Hidden Truth
by Dragonfly Rider
Summary: Sixth fic in the Secrets Series. Akasha's uncle invites her to visit him and his family at their cottage in Canada. Raph is worried, and he pursuades his brothers to go after her with him. But when Akasha's cousin goes missing, what can they do?
1. You're going where?

A/N: Would you lookitat! I new Akasha ficcie! What a surprise! Beta read my Pirate Queen - thanks chica!

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Ninja. Turtles. But I do own Akasha and her family.

**Hidden Truth**

Chapter 1

You're going _where?_

* * *

Akasha woke up to sunlight hitting her face. It was June the twenty-eighth, and tomorrow she was going up to Canada with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Her Uncle was her dad's brother, and almost the only family left on that side, so it was pretty special when they took her up to their cottage in Ontario Canada.

"Oh, darn it, I have to pack," she muttered to herself, before closing her eyes and drifting off again.

She awoke about an hour later, when her mother knocked on her door to ask if she was ever going to come down to breakfast. Another hour and she finally started packing. She was halfway done, when she heard a tap on the window. She didn't even bother to look up; she already knew whome it was.

"Come in Raph," she called. Raph opened the widow and jumped in, landing next to her, peering over her shoulder.

"Why are you packing?" He asked, clearly startled that she had a full sized suitcase lying on her bed, half filled.

"I'm going up to Canada for a month, with my Aunt and Uncle."

"I didn't know you had an Aunt and Uncle, other then April."

"On my dad's side," she answered absentmindedly.

"Where're you going in Canada? It's a pretty big country."

"Somewhere in Ontario, Lake Huron, I think it's called. They own a cottage there, it's pretty nice too, lots of trees, rocks and water." She went over to one of her drawers and pulled out a couple sweatshirts. "Not to mention the people, most of them are really nice, but they can sometimes be a little strange. Like the last time I was up there, I accidentally stepped on someone's foot, and they apologized for it. Weird huh?"

"Akasha," Raph said calmly, "you're rambling." She looked at him and sank onto the bed.

"I guess I'm just nervous about going to the cottage," she admitted, folding a pile of socks and adding them to the suitcase. "It's a long ways away and I'll miss you guys."

"They're all okay, right?" Raph asked, instantly suspicious. "Your aunt and uncle?"

"None of 'em are like Josh," Akasha assured him. "Relax. It's just that I havn't seen them for a couple of years." She emptied the contents of a draw into her case. "Let's see." she thought for a moment. "There's Emily, she's the youngest, my cousin. I think she'll be four some time this year. Then there's Jordan, she's eight, and she's my cousin. Then there's her older sister, Naomi, who's thirteen. Emily's mom, that's Sarah, and her husband Nicolas will be there to, I think. But they own their own cottage next to the other one. Sarah's my dad's youngest sibling. His older brother, Mark, will be there as well. He's Naomi and Jordan's dad. Their mom died in a car crash." She thought for a moment. "I think that's everyone."

"You have a big family," Raph whistled.

"Nah, it's actually pretty small," Akasha laughed, stacking shorts neatly in one corner of her case. She rummaged around in a plastic bag at her feet and drew out a pink bathing suit, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Oh, she _didn't…_"

"What?" Raph asked, eyeing the bathing suit and trying very hard not to snort.

"My mom. I asked her to get me a bathing suit. I specifically said no _pink_."

Just then the door opened and in bustled Dr. Andrews, carrying an armful of underwear.

"Here, Ash. I washed them," she said, putting them on the bed. Akasha flushed and shoved them hastily under a sweater.

"Do you _mind?_" she demanded. "Raph's here!"

"Oh, hello, Raphael," Dr. Andrews greeted the guffawing turtle.

"And you got me a pink bathing suit!" Akasha continued, shaking her fistful of garish nylon angrily for emphesis. "_Pink! _Wasn't there any other colour?"

"It's cute," her mother said, taking the wrinkled suit from her daughter and smoothing out the creases.

"Since when do I where stuff that's _cute_?" Akasha grumbled. "I like _practical, _mom. Pink is _not _practical!"

"You're going to a cottage," Dr. Andrews informed her daughter briskly. "You don't have to be practical."

"Well I'm not wearing that!" Akasha sniffed. "I'll bet Naomi'll like it."

"You'd better hurry," her mother said over her shoulder as she exited the room. "Sarah said that she's going to be here at eleven."

"_Eleven?_" Akasha yelped. "I thought she was coming tomorrow!"

"Change of plans," her mother called.

Muttering about pink bathing suits and inopportune changing plans, Akasha threw some remaining items from her desk into her case and slammed the lid shut.

Suddenly there was another tap on the windowpane.

"Come in, guys!" Akasha said. Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello hopped into her room.

"Where're ya goin', Asha?" Mikey asked, noticing the suitcase.

Quickly Akasha explained about the cottage in Canada and that she would be away for a month.

"Aww, man!" Mikey moaned. "I'll be bored for a month!"

Akasha grinned and tugged his bandanna tails.

"Nah, you'll find something to do."

Noting the clock read five minutes to eleven, Akasha said,

"Well, I'll see you in July!" a horn blared in the street below. "That's Sarah! I've gotta go." She kissed Raph on the cheek and waved to the others before running full speed down the stairs, dragging her suitcase. The turtles climbed out of the window again and watched from the roof.

Sarah was about twenty-seven, with long, honey-coloured hair secured with a hair-stick. She wore a blue T-shirt and jeans, with sandals. Avril Lavign blasted from the red Jeep, causing passers-by to glance interestedly at the newcomer.

"Hey, Asha!" Sarah hugged her niece.

"Hey Sarah!" Akasha returned the enthusiastic greeting. As Sarah turned to talk to Dr. Andrews, who had followed her daughter outside, Akasha glanced up at the turtles and gave them another wave before sticking her suitcase in the Jeep's trunk and climbing into the passenger side. Sarah got in the drivers side and revved the engine before pulling away from the curb and driving away, cranking the music up a little higher.

The turtles turned and headed for the alley, and the manhole cover. Raph lingered for a moment, waiting for the music to fade into the distance. Finally he followed his brothers, trying to ignore the twisting feeling in his gut that was warning him of impending doom.

* * *

Akasha sighed happily, watching the stars winking in and out in the velvety sky. The clock read 11:08 P.M. They had been on the road for twelve hours, but she didn't mind. Sarah's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, her head bobbing to the music now playing softly in the background.

Leaning her cheek on the cold window Akasha closed her eyes and tried to doze off, but she was too excited. In a few hours they would be at the cottage! She smiled. Suddenly she was overcome by a tide of exhaustion. She did not even remember falling asleep.

"Akasha! Psst, Akasha!" Sarah was shaking her shoulder. Opening bleary eyes, Akasha yawned and said,

"Are we there?"

"Yep." Sarah grinned. "C'mon, the kids are up now. They want to see you again." Akasha unbuckled her seat belt and hopped out of the car, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sarah had already got her case out the back and was pulling it up to the door of the cottage.

The cottage was a fairly good size. An outhouse stood a little way off, and an old tree stump with a small pile of wood was on its other side. A shed housed the axe, and other tools. Sarah opened the cottage door, and waited for Akasha to pass through. She stumbled inside, flakes of teal paint clinging to her hoodie as she did so. No sooner had she gone two steps inside did a young girl with long brown hair leap up off the chintz sofa and shriek "Akasha!" at the top of her voice. She ran over and hugged the surprised older girl.

"Hey, Jordan," Akasha grinned, now wide-awake. The girl smiled. She was clad in an overlarge green T-shirt and shorts, her bare feet scuffing the wooden floor.

"Hey, Ash," a slightly sleepy voice said from the doorway. Naomi, Jordan's older sister wore plaid pyjamas and slippers, her long dark hair rumpled from sleep. She yawned and padded over to the sofa and sat down next to her father, Mark, who was flicking through a magazine.

"Hello, Akasha," he said with a half-smile.

There was a woof and a bundle of black-and-white fur whizzed foreward, hitting Akasha in her midsection.

"Bailey!" she ruffled the collie's head affectionately. "Hey there, boy!"

"Well, I should be going back to the Den," Sarah said, using the family's slang term for her cottage. "Emily'll be up still, most likely. Night guys." She left, shutting the door behind her.

"C'mon, Asha," Jordan said, bouncing impatiently. "I'll show you your room!" she grappled with the suitcase for a moment, then gave up and let Akasha drag it away. She led the way through the living room and into the hallway, followed by Naomi. Akasha entered the room.

It was big enough, with two beds in it. A small dresser stood in one corner, with a hairbrush and a stack of books on it. A half-unpacked suitcase lay on one bed, while the other looked as if it had not been made for a while.

"You'll be in with me," Naomi explained, lugging the suitcase off Akasha's bed. "The spare bed wouldn't fit in Jordan's room."

"Do you mind?" Akasha asked uncertainly.

"Nah. Just don't touch my books," she added in an undertone.

"Okay, just don't touch mine," Akasha grinned, knowing just how the younger girl felt about her books.

"Well, the bathroom's in there," Naomi said. "Just don't waste too much water when you brush."

Akasha changed into her pyjamas and cleaned her teeth before climbing into bed. Naomi ushered Jorden from the room and did the same, falling asleep quickly. Akasha gazed dreamily out through the gap in the curtain, a smile on her face, before dozing off too.

* * *

Raph couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, but he just couldn't bring himself to doze off. Sighing in frustration he sat up and put on his bandanna and shoulder- and knee- pads, belt, and quickly thrust his sai's into place. He stole out of his room and into the kitchen, intending to get himself a drink. Instead, he ran into Mikey and Don, sitting at the scrubbed wooden table, drinking root beer and immersed in conversation. Only when Raph cleared his throat did they look up, surprised looks on their faces.

"Oh, hi, Raph," Mikey said, a guilty expression on his face. Raph raised his eye-ridges, instantly suspicious.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Er, just, umm… we were thirsty!" Mikey stumbled for an excuse.

"Whatever." Raph sat down at the table.

"Okay, okay, we were talking!" Mikey babbled.

"No kidding," Raph replied.

"About Akasha!" Mikey finished.

Raph's eyes narrowed.

"What about her?"

"Weeelll…" Mikey looked pointedly at Don. Don heaved a great sigh and massaged his temples wearily.

"We were just wondering wether Akasha was alright," he said finally, bracing for Raph's explosion. Raph looked at him blankly.

"Why were you wondering that?" he shook his head. "Me too."

"Oh." Don shrugged. "I guess after the Josh incident…"

"Yeah." Raph said.

"She can take care of herself," Mikey pointed out, dunking a chocolate-chip cookie into his drink. "You've seen her with her chigiriki – oh, wait! She left it here! Now I can use it!" he grinned happily, and took a large bite out of his soggy cookie. Don cringed, and Raph rolled his eyes.

"I was kinda thinkin'…" he began, but trailed off. "I was thinking of maybe followin' her or something."

"Hey, cool!" Mikey crowed, jolted from his chigiriki-based daydreams. "I always wondered what Canada was like…"

"Cold," Don replied dryly. "And there's loads of insects this time of year – moquitos, black fly – not exactly up you alley, huh, Raph?"

Raph glared at his purple-wearing brother.

"It's Akasha," he said gruffly. "So, you in, guys?"

"I'm in," Mikey said, fishing blobs of chocolate from the bottom of his glass. "It'll be fun! But what about Master Splinter and Leo?"

"Master Splinter is going to the Battle Nexus for awhile," Don supplied. "He said so this morning, but you guys were too busy fighting of the remote to hear him."

"We'll just hafta sneak outta here while Splinter Jr. ain't lookin'," Raph decided.

"Mondo coolness!" Mikey yawned widely and got up from the table, depositing his empty glass in the sink. "I'm gonna turn in. 'Night, dudes."

"Well, bro, I'd better go too," Donnie said after a moment of silence. "I've been meaning to check this website on nano-tech –"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Raph yawned. "'Night, brainiac."

Finally he was alone. Raphael's eyes wandered around the kitchen. It was clean – Splinter made sure of that – save Mikey and Don's glasses. The old clock on the wall read 3:07 AM. He should really get some sleep, but he shrugged off the thought. He absentmindedly traced a knot in the table with a callused fingertip.

Klunk slipped into the room and wound himself around Raphael's ankles, purring. Raph smiled and stroked the cat's back, picking him up and setting him on the table. Splinter disapproved of this antic, and Mikey had more than once been told to do flips for allowing his feline friend to walk on the table.

Klunk blinked at Raph with his huge, liquid green eyes. Suddenly the terepin felt rather drowsy.

_Maybe I should go to bed, _he thought. Getting up he scritched Klunk behind the ears and switched off the light, heading for his room.

* * *

Donatello panted, clutching a stitch in his plastron. He was trying – and failing – to keep up with his brothers as they raced across the rooftops, heading for the outskirts of New York. It was noon, and he, Raph, and Mikey were on their way after Akasha. Don wholly believed that she could look after herself, but when Raph put his mind to something, he would never give it up. Especially since Mikey was regarding the whole thing like a game, and egging him on. With a sigh the purple-wearing turtle readjusted the straps of his backpack that were cutting into his shoulders, dashed the beads of sweat from his brow and pounded steadily after his brothers.

"Yo, brainiac!" Raph called, using his nickname for his tech-happy sibling. "Keep up bro!"

"I'm trying!" Don shouted back, a little sharper than he had intended. "It's a little difficult when I'm lugging eighteen pounds of Silver Sentry comics!" He shot Mikey a glare.

"I might get bored!" Mikey whined.

Suddenly the seemingly endless rows of rooftops stopped, leaving a sheer drop. Raph skidded to a stop, scrutinizing the area from under his red bandanna.

Don unslung the bag from his back and let it fall with a thud to the roof. Mikey let out a cry.

"Dude! Those are my comics you're crushing!"

"You shoulda left 'em at home," Raph grumbled, agitated by the delay. Suddenly he perked up; there was a rustling from the alley below. With ninja swiftness Raphael dropped to a window-ledge, peering down. His eyes widened as he recognized the shell with the chunk missing, and the blue bandanna.

* * *

A/N: Okay, a minor cliffie. But your stunning reviews will put an end to that, right? (cricket chirps in background) ...Guys?


	2. Chicks Are Weird

A/N: Ah yes, an update. I was originally going to make you wait for a week, but I changed my mind. Thanks to Pirate Queen for giving me that much needed kick-in-the-butt to get me going. Thanks chica! And many thanks to all who reviewed! It helps.

**Hidden Truth**

Chapter 2

Chicks Are Weird

* * *

"_Leo?_" Raph dropped all stealth in his shock. Leo whirled to face his brother, an uncharacteristically guilty expression on his face.

"I was, um…" he was saved by the appearance of Mikey and Don.

"Hey, Leo!" Mikey greeted him happily. "What brings you to this fine part of town?"

"I… uh, I was… following Akasha." He mumbled the last two words so that Raph could barely hear him. But he did.

"Am I mistaken?" he asked, a wide grin on his face. "Or is our Fearless Leader breaking his own rules and chasing after Akasha?"

"I… no… but…"

"We're doing that too!" Mikey squealed. "Now we can all go together! Neato!"

"No!" Leo interrupted sharply. "Not neato! You guys aren't coming! Master Splinter wants me to look after you, and you need to stay safe. That is, in the lair."

"Akasha's Raph's girlfriend," Mikey pointed out, confused. "Shouldn't he come?"

"Yeah! You ain't leavin' me behind, Leo!" Raph was fuming. "Now can we _please _go? We're losing daylight!"

Leo hesitated for a moment, trying to come up with a suitable excuse. Finally he sighed heavily and followed his brothers.

* * *

"C'mon, Asha!" Jordan called from the raft. "It's fun!"

Akasha was seated on the dock of the cottage, a book cradled in her lap. Jordan was standing on the wooden raft in the lake, long hair plastered to her back and arms, dripping lake water. She grinned and executed a perfect dive off to one side, and swam over to the dock.

"It'll be fun! You can swim, you said so!"

"Of course I can swim," Akasha grumbled. "But it's cold! And slimy, and there're probably leeches in there, too."

Jordan heaved herself up on the dock, droplets of water peppering Akasha's book.

"The leeches are at the bottom," she said matter-of-factly. "If you keep your toes up and don't touch the ground, they usually don't get you. Besides, if you're in deeper water, you don't have to worry."

"I just want to read," Akasha replied.

"Then let's take the canoe out!"

"Last time I fell in," Akasha pointed out, remembering the tippy, unpredictable craft, lovingly nicknamed the _Blue Heron _by the family.

"Practice makes perfect!"

Akasha sighed.

"You're not going to give me a moment's rest, are you?"

"Nope!" Jordan grinned mischievously. Akasha swiped playfully at her, but the younger girl managed to slip into the water again and swam off, calling, "Catch me if you can!"

Akasha considered for a moment, then unwrapped her sarong, folded it around her book, and jumped in after her cousin.

The water _was _cold, but it was also clear and had a distinct feeling of cleanliness around it, of purity. Akasha struck around for a few moments, assessing the situation, before diving under the surface. Opening her eyes, she saw long strands of lake-weed floating eerily, and she swam hurriedly away from them. The lake bottom dropped suddenly, and she was swimming above blackness, a seemingly endless void. Shivering slightly she came up for a breath before going under again. Ahead she saw Jordan's legs disappearing under the raft. She followed.

Under the raft was a chamber. The air stank of algae, and water-skaters and spiders crawled above her. There was about eight inches of space above the water, and Akasha surveyed her surroundings, searching for Jordan. She was at the far corner, just ducking back under the water.

"Oh no you don't!" Akasha muttered, and dived after her.

When she came up Jordan was scrambling onto the raft. Akasha hauled herself laberously after her younger cousin. But she simply dived off the opposite side.

Akasha flopped onto her back and gasped, "I give up!" Jordan's head bobbed up beside the raft. She was grinning, the very image of pre-teen smugness.

"Isn't it fun?" she asked, sitting beside her exhausted cousin.

"More like a workout with the turtles," Akasha puffed. Jordan cocked her head in confusion.

"Who?"

"Oh, nobody," Akasha said hurriedly to cover her mistake.

They passed a couple of enjoyable hours together, racing, playing tag, and watching minnows under the water. Bailey, upon realizing he was missing the fun, came loping out of the cottage and played with them, chasing deerfly and splashing around. The sun was low in the sky when Naomi stuck her head out of the cottage and announced that dinner was ready.

'Dinner' was mac 'n' cheese, slightly burnt around the edges, but delicious all the same. They ate on the dock, stretched out on their now very damp towels, watching the sun sink lower and lower, and listening to the bullfrogs start to sing. A loon cackled in the background. One of Bailey's ears twitched, but he remained where he was.

"I love the lake," Jordan said softly. She was wrapped in her towel, watching damselflies dance on the water's surface, the sunset reflected in her large eyes. "It's so peaceful."

"Tomorrow we can take the _Blue Heron _out," Naomi said. "Maybe we can teach you to paddle, Akasha."

"Maybe," Akasha agreed sleepily. She yawned and rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand.

They stayed out until the mosquitos came out. Then they picked up their towels, books, and dishes and trooped inside the cabin.

They got ready for bed, and bade Mark goodnight.

"I have to use the outhouse," Akasha said to Naomi.

"Your funeral. The mosquito's'll be something vicious at this time."

Akasha slipped on her flip-flops and snuck out of the cottage. She had gone two steps when a mosquito bit her hand. She raced to the outhouse as fast as she could.

When she was done, Akasha was just heading for the cottage again when she heard a snapping twig behind her. Her ninja instincts kicked in, and she settled in a fighting crouch.

"You idiot, Mike!"

She couldn't believe it.

"_Raph?_"

"Er, heh, hey, Asha." He sounded a bit nervous.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Now she's going to break up with you," Mikey said as he dodged Raph's swipe.

"I am not! What are you doing here?" Akasha was furious. "I can –"

"Take care of yourself, we know," Leo said, putting his hands up in defeat. "We were worried."

"Apparently!"

"Look, can we – ouch! – Please just – OW! – Go inside?" Mikey asked, slapping away the cloud of mosquito's hovering around his head. Raph was trying to endure them best he could, but he did wince every so often.

"Come in? Are you mad?" Akasha exploded angrily. "My uncle and cousins are in there! You'll have to spend the night in the outhouse."

"Urgh, no way!"

"Fine. Sleep in the car. Or better yet –" she grabbed Raph's arm and towed him toward the cottage. "There's a guest room full of junk and stuff. You can sleep in there."

She led them round the back of the cabin to a small window. She pried it open and stood there expectantly, one flip-flopped foot tapping the ground impatiently.

"Go on. In. Now."

"Thanks for the warm welcome," Mikey grumbled, climbing awkwardly through the small window. The others followed. Akasha slipped through after them and closed the window.

"Okay, you'll have to keep the door locked. I'll see if I can smuggle you outta here tomorrow, maybe find you a better place to stay." She considered them for a moment. "Why did you follow me?" she added softly.

"We were worried," Don answered, taking in their surroudings interestedly. "You're our friend." Akasha's mouth twitched. Then she rushed forward and hugged Don round the neck. Don was taken by surprise and almost toppled backward.

"Wha-What was that for?" he gasped, massaging his throat.

"I've never had anybody worry about me so much!" Akasha said, and hugged the others too. Then she was out the door, closing it behind her.

"Chicks are weird," Mikey said, confirming the others thoughts perfectly.

* * *

Beta Reader's Note: I must, on this particular subject, agree with Mikey. Despite the fact I am female, I will never understand how women can pour boiling hot wax onto they're upper thigh and rip the hair out by the root, and STILL be afraid of a spider.

A/N: (laughs) Yup. We girls can be scary. (cackles evilly)


	3. Naomi

A/N: Okay, here we go. Chappie three. Read it. Reveiw it. (please) And many thanks to Pirate Queen who beta-read this ficcie for me! Thanks a million, chica:-)

Disclaimer: I forgot this last chappie: I do not own the Ninja Turtles. Or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for that matter...

**Hidden Truth**

Chapter 3

Naomi

* * *

Akasha woke to the smell of bacon, wafting in from the kitchen. Naomi was already up, and tugging a brush through her hair. Akasha threw on a dressing gown and followed her.

Mark was at the stove, a frying pan laden with slices of sizzling bacon in his hand. Jordan was bouncing in her seat, and Bailey's tail was wagging frantically, his nose sniffing the succulent scent.

"Eat up," Mark said, sliding five pieces of bacon onto Akasha's plate.

They ate, and finished getting ready. Akasha threw on a T-shirt and ran outside. The lake was calm and cool, the early morning sunlight shimmering on its surface. Akasha made her excuses and slipped back into the cabin to talk to the turtles.

"It's me, open up!" she whispered. Don opened the door.

"Morning, Ash," he said.

"I can't be gone long, so listen. You can sneak out of here through the window whenever you like, we'll most likely be out front, in the lake. Sarah and Nicolas are coming round today, so I'd be careful. Also there's a dog, Bailey, so be careful of him too. He's friendly, but – "

"We _are _ninja's, Ash," Don said, waving his hand.

"Yes, I know. Just be careful."

"Hey, that's your job, remember?" his grin was mischievous.

"Whatever. I have to go. You have food, right?" she asked, eyeing his bulging backpack. "I'll try to sneak you some stuff, but I can only do so much."

"We're fine. 'Sides, we can get ourselves some stuff."

"AKASHA!" Jordan called insistently.

"See you," Akasha ran out the cabin at top speed. Naomi and Jordan were already in the water. Bailey was sitting on the dock. Akasha took off her T-shirt. She had managed to persuade Sarah to take her to town to buy a new bathing suit, and had discarded the pink frilly specimen. Naomi had promptly turned her nose up at the sight of it, so it now resided in Akasha's suitcase.

They played till lunchtime, and had home made subs to eat. Akasha snuck four subs into the spare room. Only Don and Raph were there.

"Thanks," Don said, accepting the sub Akasha offered him. He wolfed it down. "Leo and Mikey are out exploring the woods," he explained between mouthfuls. "Mikey couldn't wait to go. Leo wanted to make sure he didn't get into any trouble."

Raph was looking at Akasha.

"So, you got a new bathing suit then?" he asked. She glared at him.

"Yes. Do you honestly think I'd wear that thing?" she handed him a sub. "Are you coming out? It's hot in here." The room was indeed stifling. Akasha could see sweat beading on the turtles' brows.

"We were going to go out when Leo and Mikey came back," Don replied. He had been watching their exchange with an amused look on his face.

"Well, I'd better go, then." Akasha was uncomfortably aware of both terrapin's eyes on her. Raph kept missing his mouth with his sub, a glazed look on his face.

"Okaaay. I'll be going." Akasha departed at high speed.

Once outside Naomi took her by surprise and pushed her into the lake.

"You'll pay for that!" Akasha spluttered, spouting water. Naomi simply laughed and swam to the raft. Akasha followed.

Sarah and Nicolas came over shortly afterward, with Emily. She and Jordan threw sticks for Bailey while Naomi and Akasha read on the dock. Mark slouched out and joined them, sitting silently on a fold-up chair, surveying the lake. Nicolas attempted to engage him in conversation, but he eventually gave up and talked to Sarah instead.

They were eating lunch when Akasha noticed Mikey watching from the forest. She got up and snuck around the cottage to join him. Leo was there, supervising his younger brother.

"Hi guys," she greeted them cheerily. "Nice day, huh?" Mikey raised his eye-ridges at her.

"What?"

"Nice bathing suit," he smirked. Akasha wished she had bought her sarong.

"Shut up."

"Yeah, Mike, shut up," Leo murmured, watching the dock through narrowed eyes. Akasha couldn't help but notice he kept sneaking glances at her from time to time. Suddenly he backed up. "The dog's coming this way!" he and Mikey scaled the nearest cedar tree, rapidly disappearing from sight. Bailey came trotting up, nose raised, trying to detect the source of the unusual scent he had smelt.

"Hey, guys, it's just Bailey," Akasha said, ruffling the collie's fur. "Come say hello." Mikey couldn't resist the temptation and jumped down to pet the dog. Bailey sniffed Mikey's proffered hand enthusiastically, thrilled by the new smell.

Naomi stuck her head round the side of the cottage.

"Hey, Bailey, c'mere, boy –" she froze at the sight of Mikey. Mikey glanced up, gave a disgustingly girlish scream, and scrambled up the tree once more. Bailey cocked his head in surprise at his new friend's sudden disappearance.

"Who's that?" Naomi's eyes were practically bugging out of her head. She was staring at the spot where Mikey had been.

"Ummm," Akasha stalled for time. "Uhh, who?" Naomi glanced at Akasha sharply.

"Don't play dumb with me," she said tartly. "I'm not stupid. There was a giant turtle petting Bailey right _there._" She pointed to the exact spot. Akasha was silently cursing her cousin's intelligence with every fiber of her being.

"I… don't know what you're talking about," she finally managed. Naomi folded her arms and tapped one bare foot on the ground.

"Uh huh." She was clearly not budging. Akasha sighed heavily.

"Okay, they're friends of mine." No sooner had the words left her mouth than she was cursing herself for being foolish enough to utter them. Naomi pounced on the hint.

"There are more of them?"

Akasha took a deep, calming breath.

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Four hundred."

Naomi stared at her hard.

"Okay, four. Look, can we just forget about it, please?"

Mikey climbed down the tree, a determined look on his face. Akasha stared at him.

"I'm Michelangelo," he said, holding out a hand to Naomi. She took it hesitantly.

"I'm Naomi."

Leo clambered down, looking wary.

"This is Leonardo," Mikey said. "My oldest brother."

Akasha smacked herself of the forehead.

"What the hell are you doing, Mike? Have you lost it?" she demanded. "You're introducing yourself to a _complete stranger._"

"She's your cousin," Mikey shrugged.

"So? What's wrong with you?" Akasha was fit to burst.

"Guys, I –" Don and Raph had appeared. Raph stopped dead and drew his sai's threateningly.

"Put them away," Akasha snapped. "It's Naomi. She's alright."

"I'm going," Naomi said, backing up. Leo blocked her way.

"You'll tell," he hissed, casting her a distrustful glance.

"I'm not a little kid," Naomi growled. "Do you think anybody'd even believe me?" she shoved past him and stalked off. Bailey followed her. Akasha rounded on Mikey.

"Great! Just great! What were you _thinking_?" she demanded.

"I thought it was a good idea at the time," Mikey murmured.

"You are unbelievable!" Akasha was nearly in hysterics. She turned on her heel and followed Naomi.

* * *

Akasha was sitting by herself by the lake. She was on the outskirts of the forest, where a group of trees made a sort of alcove away from prying eyes. It was dusk, and the sun was rapidly sinking below the horizon, painting the lake a deep crimson. A loon warbled nearby, and a mosquito buzzed in her ear. She flicked it away impatiently.

There was a rustle behind her, and Raph appeared. He sat down beside her.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hey." She glanced at him guiltily. "Sorry about earlier," she mumbled. "I kinda went postal."

"Yeah." He grinned at her. Her cursed stomach flipped. She swallowed as descreetly as possible and stared out across the lake to save having to look at him.

"Naomi won't tell," she added. "She's good about that sort of thing. Did you notice she didn't even scream when she met you guys?"

"Neither did you," Raph pointed out. The sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. Finally Akasha spoke what had been on her mind.

"I really am glad," she said. "That you came after me, I mean. I can take care of myself, but it's good to know you have my back." She smiled at him. He put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She rested her head on his shoulder.

Naomi came up behind them.

"Asha?"

Akasha nearly jumped out of her skin and whirled to face her younger cousin. Naomi raised her eyebrows at Raph, eyes flicking between them. Akasha turned red.

"You didn't tell me you _liked _one of them," Naomi said to Akasha reproachfully.

"Do I have to tell you everything?"

"I'll find out anyway."

"Oh really?" It was Akasha's turn to raise her eyebrows. Naomi giggled, and sat down on her other side. Raph eyed her warily.

"You're takin' this well," he grumbled.

"What? You expect me to scream and faint or something?" Naomi asked. She picked up a stone and skipped it across the lake. It broke the surface with a satisfying _splish_.

"Well, kind of," Raph shrugged. "We aren't exactly your normal acquaintance."

"Mikey was telling me your 'origin story'," Naomi announced. "It's more… possible than I thought."

"Possible?" Raph chuckled. "Not the word I'd've used."

"No, but it is," Naomi said earnestly. Akasha was looking at her interestedly.

"You will never cease to amaze me," she said. "You've just met a giant walking talking turtle, and you're having a conversation with him."

"Hey, you're his girlfriend," Naomi replied. "Mikey told me."

Akasha did not grace the comment with a reply, sniffed and turned back to the lake.

"What does your mom think about this?" Naomi persisted. "If she knew her daughter was dating a turtle –"

"Would you drop the subject?" Akasha cried, a little louder than intended. "You don't need to know the details of my love-life!"

"So you _do _love him?"

Raph burst out laughing.

"You're just like Mike," he said.

"I'll take that as a complement," Naomi answered, nose in the air. Akasha was now seriously debating murdering her younger cousin who was sitting there, a smug look on her face.

"Hey, Raph!" Don hissed. He was hanging by his feet from a branch above them. "Leo wants us inside; he's being paranoid again."

Raphael sighed and got to his feet. "Well, I'll see you in a bit," he said to Akasha.

"That's okay," Akasha said sweetly. "I have a cousin to kill." Raph melted into the shadows with Don.

"They really are cool," Naomi grinned. "Leo's a bit uptight, but other than that –"

"Yeah, they're really cool." Akasha yawned. "Just don't tattle, or they suddenly won't like you anymore."

"I'm not going to tattle," Naomi said, looking offended. "I'm going to bed." She got up and departed, slightly huffy. Akasha did not worry; Naomi never stayed angry for long. She leaned back against the cedar tree and closed her eyes.

* * *

A/N: Okay, well, that's it folks. I will update as soon as possible... maybe... (laughs evilly)


	4. Just Peachy!

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed so far! This is an interesting chappie, to make up for the appalling one last time. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything TMNT. Akasha and her family is mine, however.

**Hidden Truth**

Chapter 4: Just Peachy!

* * *

Akasha woke with a start. It was dark, much darker than it had been before.

"I must've dozed off," she murmured. She shivered; it was chilly. The mosquito's had gone, she noted. All was still.

_Crack._

A stick snapped somewhere in the forest. Akasha's head jerked up; a dark shape was making its way silently through the woods towards the canoe. It heaved the canoe into the water, got in, and began to paddle swiftly away. It soon vanished from sight. Akasha shook her head and snuck over to where the canoe had been beached.

A scream shattered the night. Akasha slipped in the mud and fell flat on her rear end. She struggled to her feet, searching the lake desperately. There was no sign of the canoe. But she saw something in the reeds at her feet: Naomi's flip-flops.

"Naomi!" she screamed. No answer. "Naomi!" her voice echoed, as if a hoard of ghosts were calling "Naomi! Naomi! Naomi!" around her.

Suddenly she saw something; a dark shape, bobbing above the water. Then numerous other something's appeared, and yanked the first back below the water. Akasha's vision blurred with tears. She ran the length of the dock, and dived into the lake.

The water was icy. Akasha did her best to ignore it and swam as fast as she could. Dark shapes up ahead were moving, but the closer she got, the quicker they disappeared. She dove down further, in an attempt to cut them off, but they had vanished. She burst out of the water, gasping. The dock, to her dismay, was only about three yards away. Her quarry had disappeared. She trod water for a second, then turned around and swam slowly back.

Akasha heaved herself up onto the dock, water streaming onto the wooden slats. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before sprinting off to the cottage.

"Akasha!" someone called. Akasha rounded a clump of trees to find Mark and Jordan on the front step, calling her name.

"Naomi!" she gasped. "Naomi's gone!" A look of horror crossed Mark's face, but Akasha did not have time to wonder why. She tore past her uncle and cousin. She pounded on the spare room's door.

"Guys! Open up!" she cried. Don opened the door, a worried expression on his face. The others were not there, probably out scouring the woods again.

"Akasha, what's up?" he asked. "And why are you so wet?" Akasha waved a hand in dismissal to his question.

"Naomi," she managed to wheeze. "She was taken b-by something." Akasha was trying to sort out all the confusion in her mind. "I-I fell asleep outside, and when I woke up, I saw Naomi in the canoe. Then I heard this scream, and saw her being pulled under! I went after her, but –" she gave a choking sob. "– She's gone!" Don wordlessly put his arms around her, letting her cry on his shoulder.

She gulped and drew back, wiping her eyes angrily.

"Sorry," she mumbled. He smiled.

"That's okay. You're upset. Don't worry, the others should be back any minute." He paused for a moment, then produced a blanket from his backpack and draped it around her shoulders. They sat together, their backs against the wall, waiting…

Soon the others arrived. Raph became worried when he saw Akasha's tear-stained face.

"What happened?" he demanded, glaring at Don as if it was his brother's fault.

"Naomi got taken," Akasha answered. "Something pulled her underwater."

"Underwater?" Mikey asked. "That reminds me –" But Leo put a finger to his lips, indicating that he should be quiet.

"We have to find her!" Akasha said, gathering herself together. But Mark called,

"Akasha! Come here, please!" Akasha got slowly to her feet.

"We'll go and see if we can see anything down by the lake," Leo said. He and his brothers hopped out of the window, mixing easily with the shadows. Even in her distressed state, Akasha still sighed in envy; it would be years before she was that good.

She opened the door and shuffled into the living room. To her surprise, Sarah, Nicolas and Emily were there. Jordan was hugging the young child, her lips pressed tightly together, watching the adults warily. Emily had her thumb in her mouth, her brown eyes wide.

Sarah drew Akasha aside, while Mark and Nicolas went into the kitchen to make tea. Jordan and Emily went off to one of the bedrooms, sensing that they were not supposed to overhear.

"Listen, Akasha," Sarah began. She hesitated, as if unsure of what to say. "There's something that I have to tell you, about this family. Your fathers side of the family." She paused again.

"Do you know about Atlantis?" Akasha blinked.

"Well, yes, I've heard the story." She did not say that the turtles had told her of the real Atlantis, and the Y'Lyntians that had dwelt there.

"Yes, it is supposedly a myth." Sarah shrugged. "Well, it's not. It's real. And a long time ago – centuries ago in fact – A horrible thing happened: The Y'Lyntians – the people from Atlantis – their servents rebelled, and most escaped, but not before they had killed a lot of Y'Lyntians. The Y'Lyntians went into hiding deep inside the earth, but the servents hid in the forests and uninhabited areas on the surface."

"What do the servents look like?" Akasha asked. She had all but forgotten that this was her aunt telling her all this. The information seemed to have come straight out of a fairy tale.

"I'm not exactly sure. But the two kinds I _do _know are more animal than human. Some are fishlike, and the others are more like bears, but they have green fur."

"Where's all of this going?"

"Well, an Y'Lyntian was spotted by a woman one day, on a trip to the surface. They fell in love and had a child. The child looked more like his mother than his Y'Lyntian father, so nobody suspected anything. The child had Y'Lyntian powers, however. He grew up and married a human. They had a child."

"Um, if you don't mind," Akasha interrupted. "Where is this going exactly? Does it matter?"

"I'm getting to that. Anyway, the bloodline continued to spread. But their Y'Lyntian powers did not die out, and they remainded quite strong. And the servents could sense those powers. Presuming that they were stray Y'Lyntians, they hunted down most of the family and killed them. But one survivor started another colony that moved overseas. The creatures were unable to follow, and soon forgot the people. But eventually they themselves migrated, and redescovered the bloodline. By this time the family had spread over a vast area. There were many people with faint strains of Y'Lyntian powers now, and the creatures became confused. They retreated further into the wilderness, away from heavily populated places."

Akasha was feeling sick. She had an unpleasant idea where this was going.

"Slowly, the bloodline began to die," Sarah continued. "The Y'Lyntian powers envoked a strange reaction from humans. The family became isolated, and slowly diminished." Her aunt's eyes were misty, staring unseeingly at a spot on the wall. She shook her head to clear it and plowed on. "The creatures began to pick them off. They would corner a person and kill it, hiding the body away from prying eyes. Finally there was only a tiny group of them left. Their powers were so weakened now, that they hardly had any effect on humans, and the creatures found it difficult to track them. But they stayed hidden, anti-social people." She offered Akasha a half-smile. "Guess who are the only survivors?"

Akasha swallowed to moisten her bone-dry throat.

"Us," she whispered. Sarah nodded.

"Bull's eye. We are, your father's family. Ever wondered how he died? He got ambushed on a hike. Got pretty much decapitated. We found is backpack by the lake, covered in blood. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. It started when your father was seven. His father – my father, your grandfather – was out hunting one day. I hadn't been born yet. But he said it was horrible. He heard a scream, and saw dad being dragged into the trees by these great, green bears. He says he was paralyzed with shock, and didn't even try to help. He never forgave himself for that. Authorities never recovered the body. It… vanished." Sarah's eyes were clouded with pain. "I never even got to meet my father, all because of those… things. Anyway, Peter – your dad – vowed to find out why those creatures were killing us off. He found out a great deal. He told us all he had found, but we didn't believe him. His story was to far-fetched.

"He moved to New York, to seek more work. He was a scientist, and made a lot of money there. He met your mother at a conference. They got married, and he told her all about his theories with the creatures. Unlike us, she believed him. She actually helped him do research. Well, they had you around then. Your dad was so happy. But he was worried the creatures would hurt you if they knew you were linked to him. He believed that your powers would be so diluted that they could not sense them among the hubbub of the city. He did not stick around for very long, and was constantly on the move, for about four years. Your mother was very patient. But then… your dad got fired. A mishap at work, they said, I'm not sure exactly what. Your dad needed a place to stay, away from you. He came here. He went on a hike, and…" she trailed off.

"How does this fit in with Naomi going missing?" Akasha already knew the answer.

"For some reason," Sarah said slowly. "Naomi's powers are more pronounced than normal. The creatures find it easy to find her, because her powers are so strong. We've been trying to figure that one out, but… since your dad died, we really have no idea."

"We have to find her!" Akasha said, running a hand through her unruly hair distractedly. "We'll have to take the backup canoe out, but –"

"No." Sarah was looking seriously alarmed now. "I didn't tell you this so that you could go after her! The whole point is that you can't just run off after Naomi! The creatures will most certainly sense you here, without the fumes of the city to disguise you. It would be suicidal!"

"I don't care." Akasha was already concocting a plan that involved sneaking away with the turtles. But Sarah wouldn't hear of it.

"I'm not having my neice go running off in the dead of night. Besides, it's almost certain that the creatures will not have killed Naomi yet. They'll want to use her as bait for us."

"Then what can we do?" Akasha cried.

"Wait," Sarah said. She sighed heavily. "It's all we can do."

Mark and Nicolas appeared from the kitchen, with a tray bearing mugs of tea.

"How are you?" Nicolas asked Akasha, eyeing her carefully.

"I've just found out that my family is being hunted down by evil, centuries old creatures that originated from Atlantis! My cousin is missing, I'm tired, and my neck is killing me! I'm just _peachy!_" Akasha cried, taking a deep breath. Nicolas smiled lop-sidedly.

"That was my take on it, too."

Akasha absently added honey to her tea, eyes on the window. Jordan tiptoed out of the bedroom, Emily holding her hand. They sipped hot chocolate while the grown-ups talked in low voices. Akasha did not try to listen in. Her mind was far away, with Naomi. She must be terrified, wherever she was… if she was alive, that is…

Akasha firmly pushed those thoughts away. It would not help to dwell on unpleasent things. She must direct all of her energies to getting Naomi back. The turtles would help, she knew. The adults had fallen silent now.

"How did Bailey get his name?" Jordan asked softly. She was curled up on the sofa, nursing her hot chocolate. Akasha sensed she was simply asking the question to calm her nerves, more than for the knowledge. The story had been told over and over. Bailey's ear flicked forward at the sound of his name, but he did not budge from his spot on the floor.

Mark told the story of how Bailey, as a puppy, had loved to lap up a bit of Bailey's every time Mark or Laura had added it to their coffee. Jordan curled up next to her father, comforted by the familiar words, but Akasha continued to stare out of the window. It was Emily who brought up the subject of Naomi's disappearence again.

"Why did Na'mi go away, Daddy?" she asked Nicolas, her tongue stumbling awkwardly over her cousin's name. "Was she mad?"

"I-I don't know, Em," Nicolas replied. He looked helplessly at Mark.

"She was mad at me," Mark remarked quietly. "She must have snuck out her window and taken the canoe out. She does that whenever she's angry or upset."

"Oh." Emily stroked Bailey's velvety ears with a gentle finger. "When will she be back?"

"I don't know," Mark answered. His eyes were clouded with grief, and he stared blankly at the floor. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"I'm going to bed," Akasha said suddenly, getting up. She strode to the bedroom and closed and locked the door. Turning, she saw with a pang Naomi's stack of books lying on the dresser. Her lip quivered, and she looked away quickly. To give herself something to do, Akasha went over to the small window, and pushed aside the still-damp towels from that afternoon, unlatching the window and sliding it up. Maybe the fresh air would do her good…

"AAARGH!"

"Quiet! Shhhh, it's just me!" Leo was standing there. Akasha tried to regain her composure and her heartrate at once, glaring at the blue-banded turtle.

"Oh, just give me a heartattack why don't you?" she snapped, angry with herself for getting so easily scared. Leo looked apologetic.

"Sorry. We were worried you'd never show up."

Quickly she told him the whole thing that Sarah had related to her. Leo looked shocked but said nothing.

"But why haven't you been… hunted down or something?" he asked after she had finished. "If the creatures can sense you…"

"I don't know." Akasha had been pondering the very same question herself. "Sarah says that the fumes of the city hid me, but… I don't know. My dad seemed to think that he was a danger to my mom and me, so why couldn't I be too? Now I'll never know." She swiped her eyes angrily. "Where are the others?"

"On the roof," Leo answered, slightly embarrassed. He looked away. "Listen Akasha, I know this might not be the best time, but I have to tell you something; Raph's acting really weird after that Josh… incident. I know he's very fond of you –"

Akasha snorted loudly. Leo raised a questioning eyeridge.

"Well… _fond _isn't really the right word…" she replied, grinning in spite of herself. Leo looked perplexed.

"Well, you're not together, right? I know Mikey's always going on about it, but –"

"Psst, Leo!" Don was crouched on the roof of the cabin. He saw Akasha. "So, what happened?" he asked her, momentarily forgetting Leo.

With a sigh, Akasha slid the window up further and stuck her head out.

"Get the others and come in here; I'll explain everything." Don's head withdrew and his soft footsteps receaded. Leo slid into the room. He looked upset about something.

"What's wrong?" Akasha asked, cocking her head. Leo swallowed, looked away.

"Nothing."

Akasha sat on the bed and motioned for him to do the same. She put a hand on his shoulder. "So what is it?" To her surprise she felt gooseflesh ripple under her palm, and saw a slight blush mantling his cheeks. She took her hand away.

Mikey scrambled throught the window. He landed with a surprised 'oof!' on the floor, got up, and tripped over a stack of books. He fell for the second time with a thump. After finally managing to get to his feet, he collapsed on the bed next to Akasha. Akasha was giggling uncontrollably at his antics now, and had forgotten Leo's strange behavior. Raph clambered through the window, followed by Don. They sat on the bed, watching Akasha uneasily. Mikey was rubbing his sore foot, pouting sulkily.

"So what's up, Asha?" Raph asked. Akasha sobered, and took a deep breath before explaining the whole thing to them.

"Whoa," Mikey said when she was finished. "That's deep."

"I'll say." Akasha rubbed her temples wearily.

"We need to go after Naomi!" Leo stated. But he was looking at Akasha as he said it, a strange expression on his face. The girl was much too preoccupied to notice, but Raphael did. He glared suspiciously at his older brother, wandering for the first time just how he viewed Akasha. Leo noticed, and returned the glare challengingly, as if daring Raphael to defy him. Raph held his gaze until Leo broke and stared at the ground. Raph had won – for now.

"Sooooo…" Mikey said, breaking the tension that had filled the room. "When are we going after Naomi?" he said it with such certainty that Akasha almost giggled, but held it in. She had sensed the growing intensity between Leo and Raph. She edged closer to Raph almost subconsiously, away from the burning anger that radiated from Leo.

"I was thinking of leaving in the morning," Akasha answered uneasily. "How about you guys?"

"Sure," Raph said firmly. "Tomorrow morning." He turned to Leo, eyes narrowed. "Is that alright with the Fearless Leader?"

"Fine," Leo snapped, getting up. "Just fine. I'm going to bed, I'm tired." He snuck out of the door and into the spare room, making sure that Akasha's family could not hear him.

"I think I'll hit the sack too," Mikey yawned. "How 'bout you, Donnie boy?" Don shrugged in asset and followed his brother out of the door. Raph watched them for a moment, and then turned to Akasha.

"I suppose I'd better go too," he said. He leaned toward her, but she pulled back sharply.

"Not now," she said. "Not tonight. Just… not tonight." He looked a little surprised but accepted her wish.

"Okay." He grinned lopsidedly at her. "Getting a bit too much of a habit, huh?" Akasha grinned back, a little timidly.

"It's not that, it's just… not after the whole Naomi thing." She felt her eyes prickle, and she looked down. Raph put an arm around her comfortingly, and she leaned against him as the tears began to flow.

"It's okay," Raph said, rubbing her arm. "We'll find Naomi tomorrow, I promise." Akasha sniffled and nodded. She got up and hugged him.

"Thanks," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. He got up too, and moved toward the door.

"Don't mention it," he replied. He eased the door open and peered out. "The coast's clear. I'd better go while I can." He half-turned, then seemed to change his mind and slipped out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind him. Akasha sank onto the bed, suddenly exhausted. She curled up in a ball on the mattress. She would find Naomi if it was the last thing she ever did…

* * *

A/N: Sooo... the plot is revealed! Kind of. And Naomi is gone! But where? So many questions... evil laughter I will try to update soon!


	5. Inprisonment

A/N: Hiya! Sooo, chappie five... This is a pretty long-ish one. It's actually got stuff of importance in, though, so read it carefully, folks! Bare with me. And if you spot a plothole, lemme know sharpish. I wanna patch 'em all up. Reijiro asked why Naomi was being held as bait if her father had been killed. That is because her family is nearby, you were right. Also, her dadwas out looking for them, to see if he could come to terms with them. They just saw him and killed him. I don't know if I'll have an opening to put that in the story, however, so now you know.

In case you guys wanna know, there is a bit of minor swearing in this chappie. And I mean MINOR. And not directed at anyone. Just to give ya the heads up...

Many thanks to Pirate Queen for beta reading this little piece of ficcage. Cheers:-) And also, huge thankyou to all who reviewed! It helps, really! So even if it's just a sentence, drop one in! Gives me the kick I need to get going. Thanks, guys:-)

Disclaimer: I do not own any Ninja Turtle characters.

**Hidden Truth**

Chapter 5: Imprisonment

* * *

Naomi woke suddenly, aware of a dull prodding in her back. She stirred, lifting her head groggily. Her wrists and ankles were bound together, and she had to try a couple of times to be able to wriggle into the sitting position. The first thing she saw was a large, green-furred face directly in front of her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out; her mouth was bone dry. 

Her entire body, in comparison, was damp. Lakeweed was entangled in the rope she was bound with, and the stink of algae was all around. She looked again at the furry face; the creature was large, and rather bear-like in appearance. It walked on its knuckles, however, like an ape. It's low-slung head and face made it seem rather sloth-like too. It cocked its head and studied Naomi. Intelligence flickered in its deep-set brown eyes, causing her to shiver.

The creature grunted at her, a low, almost soft sound. It turned and pulled something into her limited range of vision; a plant, dirt still clinging to its bear white root. It pushed the plant toward her, keeping its eyes on her the whole time.

Naomi swallowed, trying to draw moisture to her throat. She wriggled one hand over to the root and picked it up. The bear-creature was watching her, as if trying to tell her what to do. She brushed the dirt off the root and sniffed it; recognizing it as an edible plant, she bit into it, the ravenous hunger that was gnawing at her stomach craving food of any kind. The creature looked satisfied, and turned and loped out of the small cavern. Naomi finished her meager meal and turned, studying her surroundings.

She was in a cave. _An underwater cave, by the look of it, _she thought. A pool to her right looked very deep; the inky blackness seemed so infinate that she shuddered and groped her way toward the wall, away from the endless void. The ceiling was fairly high up. But, she noticed, it wasn't natural. It was carved. Her eyes followed the ceiling left. The farther it went, the smoother it got, as if the construction had began to improve. It finally sloped downward to a sort of doorway, where the bear-creature had disappeared. The opposite end of the cave was rough, as if the construction had been halted halfway through.

Something hit the top of Naomi's head; she looked up in time to see a droplet of water falling from a sizeable crack in the ceiling. It hit her on the nose. Then a second one hit her forhead, followed by another, and another. Thirstily she licked the drops up, relishing the taste. When she was done she inched away from the crack, further toward the back of the cave.

_I need to get out, _she thought. _My powers! _She paused. _No. I vowed not to use them. I hate my powers!_ She ground her teeth so hard they ached, and shifted backwards again.

A sharp pain bit into the palm of her hand; wincing, she looked down. A jagged rock was the source of the problem. She could see her blood glinting on its surface…

_Wait a minute, _she thought. _Where's the light coming from? _An underwater cave should be pitch dark. Slowly she looked at the ceiling. A large, bluish crystal, roughly a foot long, was suspended from the rock. It glowed, casting weak beams of light around the cavern.

_How could I have overlooked it? _Naomi thought. The crystal winked in and out, as if laughing at her. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at it. Pushing such childishness from her mind, Naomi turned back to the jagged stone. She wriggled into position, managing to pick it up. With a grunt she twisted her wrist, and hooked the edge of the rock under the ropes binding her hands. She began to laborously rub it back and forth against the cord. It hissed as it frayed. Just a bit more…

A soft burbling sound came from the pool; a green, scaly head emerged, water streaming off its surface. Fins sprouted either side of the face, which had large, fishlike eyes, and a fishlike mouth. The creature had no real nose or ears. It's digits were attatched by a thin film of webbing like a ducks'. It rose almost silently from the water and stepped onto the rock. It regarded Naomi, the large, orblike eyes not blinking once. Then it spoke.

_You are the human?_

Naomi dropped the stone in shock. The voice echoed inside her head, like a thought, but not one of hers. The voice sounded again.

_Are you the human?_

Numbly, Naomi nodded.

_You poor child, _the creature said. Its voice was musical, reminding Naomi of flutes and raindrops hitting the lake. She guessed by its body shape and voice that it was female. _They did not say you were young. _The fish-thing came closer. It smelt of waterlillies and cedar. It knelt next to the awed girl and cupped her face in its flipper-like hands. Naomi felt as if the creature could see into her very soul.

_You should not be held responsible for the actions of your ancestors. _The creature released her, eyes sad.

"Ancestors?" Naomi's voice sounded thick and rough compared to the fish-creature's lilting tones. She continued regardless, her curiosity driving her on. "You're one of the servents of the Y'Lyntians!" Mark had told her everything that his brother had found out. She had not fully believed him, but now she was beretting herself for being so closedminded.

_Yes. We are some of the last survivors of a great race, driven into submission by the cruel Y'Lyntians. _The fish-woman was studying Naomi critically, searching her face with her large eyes. _We have sought your kind for generations, striving to rid ourselves of your threatening presence._

"We aren't the Y'Lyntians!" Naomi felt tears in her eyes. "We aren't out to get you! We just want to be able to live in peace, without having to watch our backs in case you decide to jump out and kill us!" She gulped. "You killed my mom!" The fish creature bowed her head.

_I am sorry for you loss. Truly I am. But my people will not stop on the word of a child. They plan to use you to draw your family here to your aid to kill them. _Naomi saw a flicker of something in the mer-woman's eyes. Regret? She didn't know nor did she care. With a sob Naomi scrambled back, shaking her head, trying to rid herself of the haunting voice.

"Just go away! I don't want to talk to you!"

The fish-creature stood, sorrow etched on her face. Naomi felt the presence in her head slowly fade. The creature turned and walked out of the cave, leaving Naomi alone. The girl felt hot tears slide down her cheeks and buried her face in her hands, letting the sobs wrack her body.

* * *

Akasha pushed back a clump of bushes, eyes narrowed. Early morning sunlight illuminated the forest. Behind her, Raph and Mikey were arguing. 

"Look, shut up," Raph snapped at his younger brother.

"But it's not my fault you hate getting up early," Mikey whined. His complaint rewarded him with a sound smack upside the head from Raphael.

"I _said _shut up." Raph's temper had been at breaking point all morning. Despite the fact that he did not so much as raise his voice at Akasha, he snarled readily at any of his brothers, and was easily triggered into roaring.

"Raph needs to grow up." Leo had caught up to Akasha. He cast a disapproving glance at his red-masked brother who was now glaring fiercely at Mikey.

"He's not a morning person," Akasha pointed out absently, surveying the lake worriedly. Leo tried again.

"He should control his temper," he replied. "He needs to practice meditation more often, too."

"Look, if you've got nothing better to do than criticize your brother, I suggest you leave me alone," Akasha said tartly, looking sharply at Leo. The terrapin looked taken aback.

"Hey, Leo!" Mikey ran up to them. "Raph's found something!" Akasha cast Leo one last, annoyed glance before following Mikey over to where Raph was crouching among some bushes at the lake's edge.

"The _Blue Heron_!" Akasha breathed. The canoe bumped gently against the pebbly edge of the water. Akasha, upon peering inside, found the paddles there, along with a bailing bucket and whistle that were essential safety items.

_Nothing out of the ordinary, _she thought ruefully, stepping back. _But why would there be? Naomi just went out for a break to cool down. _

_You could have stopped her, _a small, unbidden voice in the back of her head whispered tauntingly. _You could have stopped her. But you let her go. _

_I was asleep! _Akasha told the aggravating voice.

_Yessssss. Asleep. That's a _wonderful _excuse. _

"Just how are we supposed to find Naomi?" Mikey asked, staring at the canoe. "She was pulled underwater, right? How are we supposed to find her there?"

"I have no idea," Akasha said, realizing for the first time how pointless her search was.

"Well at least she's doing something," Leo said, jumping to her defence.

"I don't need your help!" Akasha snapped.

Raph was now watching them with a degree of interest. Don's eyes were flicking from Leo's confused face to Akasha's completely and utterly annoyed one, as if trying to work out what had just happened.

Suddenly a rustle in the undergrowth alerted them of another's presence close by. The turtles slipped behind a clump of trees, but Akasha wasn't quick enough.

"Akasha!"

Jordan stood there, clad in her nightgown, and barefoot.

"Jordan!" Akasha gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I saw you leaving and followed you," Jordan shrugged, bare toes digging into the soft dirt. "I was just wandering where you were going."

"Nothing you need to know about," Akasha snapped, a little sharper than she had intended. She softened. "I'm sorry, but you need to go back to the cabin. Your dad'll be looking for you."

"He's at the Den," Jordan replied, bottom lip trembling. "He said to stay in the cottage and not to go anywhere."

Akasha sighed, and narrowed her eyes. Mark was not the best parent in the whole world. He did his best, she knew, but as far as she could tell, it wasn't enough. Ever since the girls' mother had died, the family unit had fallen apart, leaving the children to primarily fend for themselves.

Akasha was shaken from her thoughts by a piercing scream. A great, green furry something had erupted from the bushes behind Jordan. Akasha was reminded vaguely of a bear, but did not waste time to think of it as the creature snatched the hem of her cousin's nightgown, towing her toward it. Jordan screamed again and yanked away; the cheap polyester fabric tore easily, leaving the bear-thing with nothing but a clawful of faded blue cloth. The creature tossed it aside and started once again for Jordan, eyes fixed on its prey.

"Oh no you don't!" Akasha lunged in, kicking the beast in the chest. It roared and sprawled backward. After a moments hesitation it rose unsteadily, shaking its head. Its eyes ranged wildly before settling on Akasha. It seemed to pause for a second, as if weighing her up then charged once more, a feral screech tearing from its throat.

Akasha swung away, letting the creature whip past her. Then she turned and kicked its legs from under it. By now the turtles had some running out of the forest. At the sight of reinforcementes, the creature seemed to change tack. It got up and lumbered unsteadily toward the lake. It waded in until the water was up to its belly fur, then it dove under.

Jordan had tears of shock pouring down her face and she ran up to Akasha, hugging her hard. Akasha hugged her back, a grim expression on her face. Raph came up and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. Leo was watching them, a scowl on his face.

"Jordan, you go to the Den," Akasha said, turning to her cousin. "I know your dad said to stay put, but this is important. Tell him that I have an idea of where Naomi is and that I'm going after her. Tell him to not to worry. And –" she paused, eyeing the turtles "– One of them will come with you, okay?" She pointed at the terrapins. "They will help you in case you're attacked again." Jordan sniffled and nodded, teary eyes fixed on Akasha's serious ones.

"I can do that, Ash," Jordan answered, wiping her eyes.

"Who's going?" Akasha asked, turning to the turtles. "One of you has to. I'd go myself, but… Naomi needs me."

"I'll go," Don replied after a moments pause. "Do you think they'll be okay with my – er – unusual appearance?"

"They accepted the Y'Lyntian servents, they can accept you," Akasha said stoutly. "You're no weirder looking than that bear-thing. And at least you can talk. Explain that you know me, they should understand then." Don nodded and turned to Jordan.

"Let's go tell you dad, then," he said. Jordan slipped her hand into his and started along the path.

"She's taking it well," Raph noted in surprise.

"She's a good kid." Akasha turned back to the lake, unzipping her sweatshirt as she did so.

"What are you doing?" Mikey asked, looking highly unnerved.

"We're following that creature. It's gonna be wet." Akasha stripped off her T-shirt revealing her bathing suit. She quickly slipped out of her jeans and sneakers, piling them under a nearby bush. Raph was watching her, Mikey noticed. His eyes were traveling up the curve of her spine, the criss-crossed shoulder straps, and back down again. A suspiciously glazed look had crossed his face, and Mikey had to hold back a giggle.

Leo had noticed the target of his brother's attention too. He was looking furious, his hands clenched into fists. But before he could do so much as utter a word, Akasha, feeling Raph's eyes on her, turned around.

"What are you staring at?" she demanded. Raph shook his head.

"Uhh… nothing. Are we going or what?" he walked over to the lake. "Ladies first." Akasha snorted and with a shudder dove into the lake. She bobbed to the surface almost immediantly.

"_Shit!_"

"What is it?" Raph asked hurriedly.

"This water is _bloody cold_," Akasha snarled through her chattering teeth. Raph dove in, bobbing up beside her.

"It's not that bad," he replied indifferently, treading water. Akasha was shaking now, goosebumps coursing down her body.

"Let's just _go,_" she growled, turning away from the shore. Akasha took a deep breath and dove under. Leo and Mike followed. Raph cast an uneasy glance at the shore before submerging.

Under the water, he could just make out Leo and Mikey's dark forms swimming down below him. Steady streams of bubbles trailed after them. Akasha's pale skin was far more obvious. She was quite far under now. Raph accelerated, trying to catch up with them.

Akasha was now feeling along the bottom of the lake. Leo and Mikey were searching the sloping stretch of dirt that extended from the shore downwards. Raph swam over to Akasha his movements laborously slow in the water. Akasha barely acknowledged him, but continued her frantic search of the lake's bed. Raph scanned the area. Nothing out of the ordinary was in sight, however. Long strands of lakeweed were spotted about, along with large rocks, doomed for an endless existence underwater. A waterlogged tree branch and an old tyre stood alone a little way off.

Akasha tapped Raph on the shoulder, gesturing with her other hand to her mouth. Understanding, Raph gripped her upper arm, ready to help pull her to the surface for a breather. But something grabbed his ankle. Twisting around, he saw a pair of large, orblike eyes staring at him from a fishlike face. He let out a surprised cry, only to feel his mouth fill with water. He thrashed around, and caught sight of Leo and Mikey being cornered by a pair of the fish things. Akasha was floated beside him, seemingly unconcious.

_I know these guys, _Raph thought as he moved forward to engage the fish creature. Its thick, almost rubbery skin slid fluidly through the water. One of its flippered hands grabbed his wrist. Weak from lack of oxygen, he struggled to shake off its grip, but it only held on tighter.

_Not now! _He thought frantically as his vision became edged with black. _No…_ He faught the consuming darkness, but it eventually overtook him.

* * *

"Pssst… Raph!" Raphael felt something shake his shoulder. He tried stubbornly to remain asleep. He ached all over. 

"Noooo…" he moaned. "Lemme sleep…"

"Dammit, Raphael, wake up or I'll tickle you!" He sat bolt upright, only to crack his head on the low rocky ceiling. He reeled back, running into someone who sat behind him.

"Raph! Sit _still_." Raph tried to open his eyes, but fabric blocked his vision. Feeling the damp flutter of his bandanna tails on his plastron, the dazed turtle realized someone had turned his mask around. He raised his hand, trying to right it, but his wrists were bound in front of him.

"Wh-where the shell am I?" he mumbled, gazing blindly around.

"Not really sure." As the terrapin slowly woke, he realized the voice belonged to Akasha. Her presence at his back shifted slightly as she managed to wriggle into a more comfortable position. "I blacked out in the lake. Then I woke up here." She groped at his shoulder and found his bandanna; with a tug she righted it. As the eyeholes settled in their proper place, Raph looked around.

They were in a very small, narrow rocky cave. Akasha was sitting with her back against the wall, watching him. He could see that she had managed to get free of her bindings somehow. Two dark shapes lay nearby, doubtless Leo and Mikey. They seemed to be unconcious, or asleep. Light filtered through the tiniest of cracks in the rock at one end of the tunnel, making it look twice as eerie as it was.

"Here." Akasha untied his wrists. Raph massaged them to get the blood flowing again, and tried to sit up straight. His head hit the ceiling again. He cursed loudly; it echoed off the cave.

"Believe me, if swearing helped, we'd be outta here by now," Akasha said dryly. "It just makes your head ache. I gave it up hours ago." She smothered a yawn; Raph could see her shivering.

"I-I'm freezing," she muttered. She scooted a little closer, sharing body heat. "Aren't you cold-blooded?"

"Only in extreme temperatures," Raph replied. "This is nothin' compared ta the lair without a heater on." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She chuckled at his attempt at a joke.

"The others are asleep," she said after a pause. "They're fine, just exhausted. Where d'you think we are?"

"Under the lake somewhere," Raph guessed. "And I know who took us, too." He told her about the fish people.

"We've met them before," he finished. "We were camping with Case and Ape and one of them came out onto the land. She'd been hurt by some leaking radioactive junk from a nearby power plant. She died in the end. Apparantly she told April that she and five other ones of her kind were the last on earth." He frowned. "She must'a not known there were others in Canada."

"Those must be the Y'Lyntian servents," Akasha murmured. "Or one kind of them, anyway."

"April did mention that the fish thing said that she had once lived with the Y'Lyntians," Raph muttered under his breath, as if to him self. "She didn't tell us what happened in great detail. She seemed to want to keep it to herself."

"I can't believe my mom never mentioned this whole thing to me!" Akasha said, slamming her fist against the ground. "Why did she even let me come if she knew about the creatures?" Raph scratched his head.

"Maybe she thought that the creatures wouldn't find you," he shrugged. "She would never put you in harms way on purpose. She must have thought it safe to allow ya ta come."

"Yeah. But I still think she should have told me," Akasha grumbled rebelliously. She snuggled further down, trying to keep warm.

They passed the time slowly. At first they discussed various random topics such as music and TV shows. They played thumbwar, although Raph won nearly every round, and I Spy, finally moving onto 20 Questions.

"Is it an animal?" Akasha asked. Raph shook his head.

"A person?"

"Nope."

"An object?"

"Nuh huh."

"An emotion?"

"No joy."

"A TV show?"

"Yep, and that's five questions down."

"It's Corination Street," mumbled a sleepy voice from the other end of the cave. Akasha peered over.

"Mikey?"

"Yeah. He loves that show."

"Stuff it, Mikey," Raph grumbled sourly. It seemed his younger brother was right. Akasha grinned and crawled over to Mikey.

"Rise and shine," she teased, untying his wrists. Mikey scrambled up, smacking his head on the ceiling.

"Saves me having to do it," Raph smiled in satisfaction.

"I'd smack him, too, if he spilled about me loving Corination Street," Akasha smirked. "Never figured you'd watch _soaps_."

"He makes us record them all," Leo said. He was sitting up, wrists freed, watching them. Akasha had not even heard him wake.

"Don't help me out or nothin', Fearless Leader," Raphael snarled, hands reaching for his sai's. Realizing his belt was empty, he cursed fluently. "They took my blades!"

"Watch your language, Raphael," Leonardo snapped. "We can replace them."

"It's not like that if your precious katanas go missing," Raph sneered. "'My _katanas!_'" he mimicked. Leo ground his teeth furiously.

"Shut up, Raphael! You have no idea what it's like!"

"Yeah, you _named _yours," Raph shot back. "Like Mikey and his 'chucks. Do you cuddle them at night, too?"

"_Shut up_!" Leo was looking mutinous now. He made to get up.

"THAT IS IT!" Akasha yelled. It reverberated off the cave, making it sound ten times louder. Leo and Raph stopped and stared at her, looking shocked.

"Just because you've both been at odds lately doesn't mean you can both act like two year olds!" she snapped. "I'm sick of you arguing! We're trapped in here together, and will probably be in here for a while, so _both _of you just _shut up!_ You're giving me a headache!"

"Chill, Asha," Raph began, reaching out to rub her shoulder. She let him do it, eyes still smoldering. "We're sorry." He glared expectantly at Leo.

"Sorry, Akasha," Leo said reluctantly. He turned his back on them, as if to meditate.

The time passed slowly. The steady _drip drip _of water faded into the background. They talked about the fish people and, after exhausting that topic, about how small the cave was, and how uncomfortable.

"I mean," Michelangelo said. "Couldn't they have given us something a tiny bit _bigger?_ I can't even sit up straight! My legs are cramping."

"Lie down," Akasha instructed. "That'll at least stretch your leg muscles. There's just enough room to get one at a time lying down. We'll have to take turns." Mikey lowered himself onto the cold rock, wincing as his cramped muscles uncurled.

"How did they get us in here, anyway?" he asked, settling his head on a more comfortable rock. "I don't see any door."

"I dunno," Akasha murmured, crawling over to one end of the cave. She began feeling along the rock face, fingers periodically blotting out the light, throwing them into darkness. Mikey whimpered.

"He's afraid of the dark," Leo said softly from his place at the back of the cave. It was simply a statement, meant to benefit Akasha's general knowledge. Mikey replied,

"Am not!" although he reached out for Raph's hand with one of his. Akasha took her palm off the crack, letting light once more spill into their prison.

"There's no door or entrance," she said. "Not that I can find, anyway. It seems to be completely naturally formed, as if the earth grew over the entrance." She snorted at how stupid that had sounded. "As if."

"Wait a minute," Mikey said, propping himself up on his elbows. "That's exactly what happened when that crazy Y'Lynian dude attacked us! Remember, guys? He had been trapping the mutants – Quarry, and them – and trying to transform them back! Of course, without me, you would have all perished! Because I am –"

Raph growled threateningly.

" – The Battle Nexus champion!" Mikey finished proudly. Akasha threw a chunk of dirt at him, spraying the orange-wearing turtle with damp soil.

"You hadn't even won the stupid thing yet," she snapped, having heard her fair share of stories about it.

"Mikey's right, though," Leo said, ignoring his brother's whines. "About the powers. But I thought the creatures were against the Y'Lyntians. How could they use Y'Lyntian powers without the Y'Lyntians themselves?"

"I have no idea." Akasha crawled back to Raph and leaned against the cave wall, dejected. "Right now I just want to eat chocolate. And be dry." She shivered, moving closer to Raphael. Leo turned his shell on them again, and continued his meditation. Time ticked on…

* * *

A/N: Not much to say. Just review. (grins hopefully) I really hate these end author's notes... Oh yeah. And no offense to anyone who likes Corination Street. I couldn't think of anything else. And I actually don't mind the show. So... yeah. Just thought I'd toss it in there... (shrugs) 


	6. Unexpected Assistance

A/N: Hi y'all! Back again with yet _another _chappie! Surprise surprise! I warn you: This does not specifically take place at any time in relation to the episodes. None of the Akasha fics do.So don't try to fitthem in somewhere. You'll get a headache. Believe me, I've tried it. ;-)

This is a peek atwhat Donnie-boy's up to! I cut him out for the majority in this, I'm afraid, but never fear! I have plans for a partially Donnie-Centric Akasha ficcie. He's my fave character, I don't enjoy leaving him out, it just fits the part.

**_HUGE _**thanks to all who reviewed, and to my beta-reader, Canadian Pirate Queen! Thanx, chica!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninja Turtles.

**Hidden Truth**

Chapter 6: Unexpected Assistance

* * *

Donatello sipped his mug of tea, cradling the hot beverage in his hands. Jordan was nibbling cookies, eyes downcast. Her bare muddy feet scuffed the cabin's wooden floor in a guilty sort of way. Bailey's head was on her lap, and he whined faintly, feeling the tension in the air.

Don and Jordan had gone straight to the Den. The family had taken Don extraordinarily well, although, he reflected, they must be used to unusual things happening. He explained briefly that he was friends with Akasha then told a desperate Mark about the attack on Jordan. Mark had scolded Jordan for leaving, but it was plain he wasn't angry. Jordan had looked quite relieved, although she seemed to be genuinely sorry for betraying his trust.

Don sighed and set his mug on the coffee table in front of him. Nicolas and Mark had disappeared, presumably to look for Akasha. He suspected that they felt partly responsible for Akasha leaving, although Don told them that his brothers were with her. Don and Sarah had been left to look after Emily and Jordan. He hated being deadweight, and he thought he could be of more use helping to search. But he had not been invited along therefore he thought he had better stay.

_I don't think Mark liked me much anyway, _Don thought gloomily, staring at the scratched wood of the table. _I'd just be in the way. _

"Can I get you anything?" Sarah asked, eyeing Don. She was sitting on the chair, Emily on her lap.

"Uh… no, I'm okay." Don answered. He looked up at her. "Look, don't you feel a little insecure around me? I mean, I'm a – a – _freak_," he spat the last word with the venom Raph always used. "For all you know I could be a murderer or something."

"If you were you would have killed us ages ago," Sarah replied, unfazed. "Besides… you're Akasha's friend, right?" Don nodded.

"Yeah."

Sarah scruntinized him momentarily, pale eyebrows drawn together.

"You're not her boyfriend, are you?" she asked, looking curious. Don balked.

"Urgh, _no!_" he grimaced. "That's Raph's department. I'm her _friend, _nothing more. 'Sides… I'm with… uh… someone else, sorta…" he trailed off. Sarah was grinning.

"So _that's _why she isn't with anybody," she said, nodding. "I did wonder. I mean, she isn't unattractive, or anything. It seemed odd."

"Mmm." Don was becoming extremely uncomfortable. "Look, I'm no judge on that sort of thing. I mean, being a – turtle, and all, sort of ruined my perspective, I guess."

"It could be worse," Sarah said frankly. "You could be a mutated cockroach." Don snorted loudly, imagining Raph waking up to find him self one of the things he loathed most.

"True."

"How did you get here?" Sarah asked, looking genuinely curious. "I know you didn't get in the car."

"No, we followed her," Don responded. "She told us where she was going. I guess Raph can get a bit… overprotective, at times."

"Ah." Sarah stroked Emily's hair, deep in thought. "Did she mention the Y'Lyntians to you?" she asked abruptly. Don nodded.

"She told us everything you told her, I believe," he replied. "We have had run-in's with the Y'Lyntians and their servants ourselves. We've fought them." Sarah did not reply, so he told her a brief account of their fights with the Y'Lyntians and their servants.

"That's interesting," said Sarah when he had finished. "So they know you?"

"Well, yes," Don answered. "But the fishpeople in particular are under the impression that they're the last of their kind. They must not know about the ones in Canada."

"We didn't either," Sarah said, mouth curling in distaste. Don looked at her questioningly.

"You see, my family used to live in the US too," she explained. "But when the creatures attacked my dad, we moved to BC. My mom thought it would do us good to start fresh, you know? Well, it was fine, until your father got taken. Then we moved here. We haven't been bothered until yesterday." She sighed heavily and massaged her temples. Emily lay curled up on her mother's lap, thumb in her mouth, eyes shut.

"Hey," Don said suddenly. "If Akasha has the Y'Lyntian powers, then why does she have healing powers? That isn't normal for Y'Lyntians, is it?"

"Healing powers?" Sarah frowned.

Don explained about Akasha's healing powers, and how they had become a lot weaker since her near-death experience.

"She never mentioned that to me," Sarah murmured. "I wonder why she has different powers…?" she paused. "Oh! Maybe it happened when she came into contact with that mutagen at her mother's lab! Lilly told me about it briefly."

"I hadn't thought of that," Don said. "Maybe that's what happened."

An awkward silence followed.

"What will you do now?" Don heard himself ask. The question burst out of him before he could stop it. "After we get Naomi back?" he clarified when he received a querrying look from Sarah.

"I have no idea." Sarah offered a half-smile. "I'm sure we'll think of something. We always do."

Don stared out of the window, eyes on the lake. It was so calm and peaceful, as if oblivious to the turmoil its inhabitance had caused. Don found himself wondering if the others were okay.

* * *

Naomi sat hunched over in her cave, miserable. She had longed for the sight of her family, but now she was wishing that they had never shown up. She had cried herself into a fitful sleep after the fish woman's visit. She was roughly woken some hours later by a bear-creature, and led through a catacomb of twisting passages to a tiny tunnel dug into the back of a cave. A group of male fish-people had carried in the limp forms of Raph, Mikey, Leo and Akasha, putting them in the tunnel. Naomi had screamed and fought, trying to reach her friends, but the bear-creature had held her fast.

A fish-man had swiftly told her to close the opening, his telepathic voice cold and unforgiving. At first Naomi had refused point blank, but he had informed her stonily that it was either inprisonment or death for her friends. She had reluctantly forced a heap of dirt and stones to close the opening, sealing her friends from sight. She managed to leave a few tiny cracks as breathing holes, and the fish-man did not object. He told her briefly that she was not to reopen the tunnel if she valued her friend's lives, before breaking contact sharply and watching as the bear-creature dragged her back to her cavern once more.

Naomi felt tears running once more down her cheeks but did not even try to wipe them. Her wrists were sore from the chafing cord, and her hair fell in unruly tangles about her face. She shivered, her still-damp clothes clinging to her body. Her teeth ached from her grinding them together. She hated being helpless.

Suddenly a noise from the cave entrance was heard. Naomi barely even moved, not caring whome it was. Only when the soft tapping of flippered feet alerted her that the person was approaching her did she look up. It was the fish-woman that she had seen earilier.

_I have thought about what you said, _she stated, her lovely voice ringing in Naomi's head. _You speak the truth for one so young. I have decided to help you escape. _Naomi could scarcely believe it.

"You… you're serious?" she asked, throat bone dry. The fish-woman nodded.

_I do not jest about something so important, _the mer-woman answered. She untied Naomi's bonds. _My name is Kleye. _

"Naomi," Naomi replied, wincing as her cramped muscles unfolded. She stood up shakily. "Thank you."

_Do not thank me yet, _Kleye replied, shaking her head. _We must get you out of here first. Come. _The merwoman turned and padded out of the cave. Naomi broke into a painful trot to keep up.

"What about my friends?" she asked as the fish-woman led her along a dizzying catacomb of tunnels. "We can't leave them!"

_I have some acquaintances that will bring them, _said Kleye. _Can you break down the barrier sealing the tunnel shut? I have already taken care of the guards._

Naomi gritted her teeth and felt with her mind for the earthen barrier. Years of rejecting her powers made it very difficult, but she managed it. In her mind's eye she could see the wall crumbling.

"I've done it," she panted, swiping the beaded perspiration from her forehead. Kleye did not stop her brisk pace.

_Good. I have sent a small group of my kind to retrieve them. They will meet us at the exit shaft._

"Won't you get in trouble?" Naomi asked. "For letting us go?"

_I do not care for those who lead us, _Kleye answered, her voice full of contempt. _I shall leave with you. Perhaps join another colony, far away. My life is far from over, with luck I can undo some of the wrong I have comitted._

They had reached a dead end. The natural caves stopped abruptly, and the end was sealed by a large, smooth, brick-like surface. It was a yellowish colour with intricate blue signs and symbols all over it. The merwoman traced a symbol with a flipper and the bricks slid apart smoothly, making no noise at all. Kleye led a startled Naomi through the door before it sealed itself silently behind them.

The room they had entered was large, with curved walls. The walls were decorated with the same designs that graffitied the door. A large stone table stood in the center of the room. A series of labelled stone tablets the size of Naomi's hand running along its edges, and a large, filmy screen covered the whole of the room's far side. It showed the lake, a few stray sunfish swimming idly to and fro, and waving strands of lakeweed swaying with the currents. Naomi's jaw dropped.

"Wha… what…?" she began, wide eyes watching a cluster of whirligig beetles swirl amongst a clump of lakeweed.

_This is the Viewing Pod, _explained Kleye, a hint of pride in her soulful voice. _We observe the local wildlife from here, and make sure that nobody is sneaking up on us. _The fishwoman pressed one of the many stone tablets on the table; the picture vibrated and rippled outward, colours blending and mixing, until it finally stilled, leaving a seemingly perfect wall in its place.

_This is why your friends never found us, _Kleye told an astonished Naomi. _The Pod has a built-in camouflage device. The window can take on the colour and texture of any surface it comes across. From outside it looks like the lakebed._

"What now?" Naomi asked, eyes still on the spot where the window had disappeared.

_Now we wait, _Kleye said solemnly. She sat cross-legged on the floor, her large orb-like eyes observing Naomi silently. The girl nodded and sat down opposite her new friend, back to the wall.

* * *

Akasha lay slumped against Raph's arm, snoring lightly. Raph was watching the steady stream of water dripping sluggishly from an out-jutting part of the ceiling. Nothing but the sounds of their breathing could be heard, aside from the scratching coming from Michelangelo. Mikey had taken to scratching his name over and over on the wall with a shard of rock.

"I want to be remembered when they dig up a dried-out shell and bandanna next millenia," he explained to Akasha.

"We'll get out of here!" she had insisted, refusing to believe they were trapped for good. Mikey now lay curled in a corner, his rock fragment clutched in his hand, its tip scratching feebly. Leo was watching his brothers and Akasha silently from the end of the cave.

_She looks so peaceful, _Leo thought, watching Akasha stir slightly in her slumber. He felt warmth flood through him as he looked at her and turned, instead observing Raphael. His teeth clenched involuntarily at the sight of his red-banded brother.

_He doesn't deserve to have her! _He thought angrily, forcing himself to remain outwardly calm. _His temper will ruin their relationship. They _both _have a temper! It'll never work!_

_It's worked so far, _an unbidden voice pointed out snidely from the very edges of his thoughts. _And she's much happier with him than she will ever be with you._

_No! Raphael does not deserve to have somebody so… _Leo trailed off mid-thought, eyes lingering once more on Akasha. As if sensing his gaze the girl shifted, eyelids fluttering. She sank back onto Raph's shoulder and continued to sleep. Leo's heart plummeted like a stone dropped into a lake.

_Stop being so selfish, _his good-boy side remarked. _She chose him. Not you, not Mikey, not Don. Raphael. Your hot-head-of-a-brother, that never gets it right._

"Then why did he get her?" Leo muttered to himself outloud. Raph's head jerked toward him, as if he had heard, but he simply threw Leo an uncaring glance and settled against the wall again. Akasha stirred and yawned, waking up.

"Wh-what time is it?" she asked, stretching as much as the close proximity of the cave would allow.

"No idea," Raph murmured. "I'd guess ya slept for about an hour or so."

"Ah, I needed that," Akasha mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Raph grinned and tossed an arm around her shoulders.

"May as well rest up," he shrugged. "We're most likely gonna be in here for a while."

Akasha grinned and kissed his nose, delighting at his surprised expression. Mikey groaned, eyeing them.

"Urgh, the two lovebirds," he grumbled, scratching his head. "You're making me sick… and I'm hungry!" He clutched at his shrunked stomach, letting out another huge, fake groan of agony.

"Huh! All we got to eat is dirt," Akasha grumbled, scraping idly at the floor with her fingernail. "I wonder how long it'd be till we starve?"

"Not for a couple of weeks," Leo stated calmly from his vigil on top of a rock. "But we'll die of thirst within a few days. Of course, if we manage to get enough from this stuff – " he gestured to the ceiling where rivulets of water flowed lazily down the compressed dirt and rock " – I'd say a little longer."

"Well, that's really boosted our confidence, Mr. Sunshine," Raph said sarcastically. "Thanks for being so optimistic."

A period of stony silence descended over the trapped inhabitance of the cave, save Mikey's steady _scritch-scratch _as he scored his name for the seventy-eighth time on the rock behind him. Leo steadied his breathing and began to meditate, trying to block all thought from his mind.

Suddenly a muted _boom_ was heard from the other end of the cave. A tiny, diagonal crack wormed its way across the expanse of packed dirt, splitting it in two. The whole end of the tunnel collapsed, dust clouds billowing back into their faces, momentarily blinding them. Mikey coughed.

"What the shell's happening?"

As the dust clouds cleared, his question was answered. Three dark forms could be seen standing at the mouth of the cave, watching them.

_Are you Akasha?_

* * *

A/N: GAH! Cliffie! Bad cliffie! (swats cliffie with broom) I truly hate putting cliffies up because I know how annoying they are. But it was getting too long. And now I guess you'll just _have _to read the next chappie, right? And review, right? (wink wink) Oh, and flames will be used to cook food for thepoor people in India.


	7. The Backpack

A/N: Here's a nice looooooong one for y'all! Have fun! ;-) And you can all thank CPQ (there's a surprise!;-) for making me put it up! AGAIN! What would I do without you, chica? Probably never post anything...

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninja Turtles.

**Hidden Truth**

_The Backpack_

* * *

Akasha shook her head in befuddlement. It was as if something was thinking in her mind. The strange voice sounded again, louder this time.

_Are you Akasha? Speak!_

"Y-yes!" she croaked, rubbing dirt out of her eyes. "Yes! I'm Akasha!"

"Are you okay, Asha?" Raph asked. It seemed he could not hear the voice.

_Come forward, _the voice commanded. It reminded her of a stone skipping on a lake. Akasha dug in her heels.

"Who are you?"

_All shall be explained. Come. It is not safe here. _

Akasha started to crawl forward, toward the three figures. Raph grabbed her ankle.

"We don't know who they are!" he hissed. But she scrambled out of the cave before he could stop her. He had not choice but to follow.

The tunnel they had been trapped in was adjoined to a much larger cave. It appeared to have been clumsily dug out, as if in a hurry. Blue crystals were fixed to the ceiling, glowing eerily. The three figures stepped into full view.

One was a tall, fish-like being. It was its voice that Akasha could hear. She could tell it was male, and although it appeared stern, its voice was kind as it said,

_We are here to help. Follow me. _The fish-man turned and padded silently out of the cave into a carved hallway. Akasha followed without hesitation. Raph was staring at the fishman in what looked like horror as he fell into step with her.

"We've seen 'em before!" he told Akasha urgently, pointing at the figure that moved swiftly ahead of them. "They fought us! It's a trap!"

"No," Akasha murmured. "They want to help us."

Leo and Mikey had caught up now. Mikey was looking highly unnerved.

"Guys, I don't like this!" he moaned. "I don't like this at all!"

Suddenly a prod at his elbow got his attention. A smallish green bear creature was holding his nunchuku's in its mouth, pushing them toward the orange-banded turtle. Mikey forgot his concern and grabbed them.

"My babies! Daddy missed you!" he crooned, cradling them to his plastron. The bear creature had a bag tied to its back. From it it pulled Leo's katanas and Raph's sai's, offering them to their owners. The turtles took the weapons uncertainly.

"We've seen these bear things before too!" Raph said.

"But it was good, remember?" Mikey asked, looking up from his 'babies'.

Raph just frowned, gripping the hilts of his newly recovered sai's.

They were led down passages and tunnels, some naturally formed, others dug out. There was not another living thing to be seen. The neverending silence pressed down on their ears, and Mikey began to hum a tune just for something to listen to.

_My name is Prikë, _the fishman said to Akasha. Apparantly he, too felt the tension. _This is Guppy, and that's Yola. _He gestured to the playful young bear-creature, who bounced happily beside the girl, and the tall slim shadow at the rear of the group. She was a fish-creature, Akasha saw, but was more human than the others. She had a human nose and ears, and she wore a sort of wetsuit-like thing. Long, sleek greenish hair framed her face, which was closed and thoughtful, and she had an air about her that suggested hidden knowledge. Akasha made a mental note to ask why she was different to the others.

_She is part human, _Prikë said as if he had heard her thoughts. _Her mother was one of us, her father a human. She has joined the rebellion because she is not willing to kill her own kind. She is somewhat oppressed by the others. _

They had reached a large, seemingly solid wall of sandy-coloured bricks, grafittied with blue symbols and signs. Prikë ran a webbed finger along one of the signs and the wall parted, making no sound at all. Guppy trotted through them first, tongue lolling happily from the corner of his mouth. Akasha followed carefully.

"_Akasha!_"

Something slammed into Akasha with enough force to send her reeling backward. That someone hugging her fiercely around her midsection: Akasha recognized her cousin, her hair tangled wildly about her face, dirt streaking her clothes and skin.

"Naomi!" Akasha hugged her cousin back. "You're okay!"

"Yeah!" Naomi was grinning now, her face lighting up. "I want you to meet someone!" She turned to a slim fishwoman on the other side of the room. She studied Akasha silently for a moment.

_I am Kleye, _she answered finally. _I am glad you made it safely. Your cousin was worried._

"She rescued me," Naomi put in. "And she arranged for them" – she pointed to the waiting Prikë, Guppy and Yola – "To go get you!"

"Thank you," Akasha told Kleye honestly. The merwoman simply inclined her head slightly, her face expressionless.

_It was nothing._

"Hey, Nami!" Mikey sauntered up, grinning ear to ear. He had invented the nickname when he had first been introduced.

"Mikey!" Naomi tugged his bandanna in a friendly way.

"We must go." The quiet statement came from Yola. She spoke normally, but her voice was as lovely as the fish-people's. It sounded like the rustle of dragonfly wings. "It is not safe."

_Yola is right, _Prikë said. From the start Raph, Leo and Mikey made, Akasha guessed they could all hear him. _We must get you to the surface. Quickly. Come. _Prikë pressed a stone tile that rimmed the edges of a large, brickbuilt table in the centre of the room. A door opened at one end.

"That is the exit shaft," Yola explained, her face still expressionless. "It comes up in the forest. You can find your way home from there."

_Oh, but you mustn't go yet. _

Akasha felt a hard, intrusive presence in her mind. Gritting her teeth she sought to shove it away, but it was far too strong. The relentless, cold voice went on. It sounded like the scrape of rock on rock.

_We haven't been introduced. _Standing in the doorway was a tall fishman. He was so tall, in fact that he towered over them all. He wore a sort of headdress made of shells, and carried a staff with an Y'Lyntian crystal on the top. Flanking him was a pair of burly fishmen, with a couple of muscly bear-creatures following him.

"Shrak!" Yola hissed her eyes narrowed into slits.

_Ah, the lovely Yola. _Shrak mocked. _Hiding out with your own kind. How touching. _He sneered. _Get them. _The bear-creatures stalked forward, teeth bared. They circled the trapped group, cutting them off from the exit shaft, herding them toward Shrak. Prikë was looking utterly expressionless, while Guppy whined faintly, sticking close to Yola. The half human was looking murderous.

_Secure their weapons, _Shrak ordered icily to his companions. One of the fishmen reached out and snatched for Leonardo's katanas. Michelangelo landed in front of his brother, nunchaku's out and spinning. The fishman made to grab the turtle, but the orange-banded terrapin eluded him easily, swerving away from his groping hands.

"Nya nya, can't get me!" he taunted.

The other fishman grabbed Naomi, holding a bone dagger to her throat.

_Drop your weapons! _His mind-voice hissed. _Or your comrade dies!_

"Naomi!" Akasha cried. She tried to run to her cousin's aid, but Raph barred her way.

"They'll get you too!" he hissed.

"We have to do something," Akasha spat back. She shoved past Raph and walked calmly toward Shrak.

"Take me instead," she demanded forcefully. "Leave Naomi!"

"Akasha!" Raph looked horrified. "What are ya doin'?" She ignored him.

_Hmm… _Shrak said. _Perhaps, it would be a better idea. It matters not to me which of you comes. _He gestured for her to come closer. _Come here. I will let your friend go then._

Akasha stepped closer. One of the fishmen hurried forward to bind her wrists together. Shrak pushed Naomi away from him. She stumbled, and Leo steadied her before she fell.

"Akasha!" Raph roared. He took a step forward, sai's raised.

"Don't! I'll be fine!" Akasha called as the fish guards pulled her back along the tunnel. "Don't fight!" Her voice echoed back to them, then faded all together. Raph seemed to be suffering from some painful internal struggle.

"I… but… ARGH!" Raph raised his sai's and brought them crashing down on the floor of the pod. They sank down a few inches, lodged in the brickwork. Raph sank down onto the floor, grinding his teeth in frustration.

_You will be kept here for a time, _Shrak's voice cut in smoothly. _Do not try anything. Your friend's life is on the line. _The fishman strode over to the stone table, pushing a sequence of stone buttons. The exit shaft sealed itself again, but this time a thing film of bluish substance oozed from the wall to cover the entrance; obviously he had 'locked' it.

"Great! Just great!" Raph yelled once Shrak and his minions had left. "ARGH!" He beat his fists on the floor angrily.

"Calm down Raphael," Leo said calmly. He sat cross-legged on the floor, observing his furious brother. "We'll get out."

"Akasha! Why did she do it? _Why?_"

"Calm down Raphie, Asha can take care of herself." Mikey leaned on the table, eyes worried. "She'll have a brilliant plan of escape, just you wait and see!"

Raph said nothing. He turned his shell on his companions and began to meditate.

* * *

Akasha was dragged none too gently back down the twisting turning passages. She was dumped unceremoniously in a branching off cave. Her hands were tied to a stalagmite, and a one of the fishman stood guard at the cave entrance.

_Now what? _Akasha wondered doggedly, eyeing the wall of the cave in front of her. _Probably get killed if the turtles don't cooperate. _The thought was too horribly to dwell on, so she pushed it aside.

To keep her mind off it, she studied the cave critically. It was a lot like all the other caves she had been in, except it had a large pile of what appeared to be human garbage at one end. Old shreds of clothing, a tyre, some hubcaps and a boat propellor were among the wreckage. An old backpack was lying a little away from the other things. Akasha, for boredom's sake, hooked it with her sneaker and dragged it toward her. She managed to clumsily tip the contents out onto the cave floor. An old, waterlogged camera, a badly waterstained, leatherbound journal, a handful of sketching pencils, and an old handheld tape recorder were among the objects.

_This must have belonged to one of the creature's victims, _Akasha thought, biting her trembling lip to stop it visibly quivering. _I wonder how closely related they were to me? A cousin? An aunt or uncle? Or grandparent? _Akasha pushed the things away from her, feeling her eyes fill with unwanted tears. She did not need this now! She needed to focus all her energy on escaping. She took a deep breath and held it for a couple of seconds, then slowly exhaled, trying to control the painful knot of emotions that was roiling in her chest.

_God, I wish Raph was here, _she thought. But his face swam in her mind, making the tears spill down her cheeks. She gritted her teeth.

_I need something sharp! _She decided. _Something to cut through this bloody rope! _Akasha scanned the floor for any sign of a jagged rock she could use. There was nothing. Then she spied a glint from amongst the jumble of the things from the backpack.

_A knife! _She thought gleefully. _Yes! _She pulled it toward her with her foot. It was a rusty knife, obviously meant to be kept in a sheath. She scrabbled to get it with her hand and found the worn ivory handle easily. Akasha began to saw away at her bindings, feeling the pressure on her wrists slowly weaken. Eventually she pulled and the cords snapped.

"Yes!" she breathed, crouching down, hardly believing she was free. Quietly she fumbled for the sheath in the backpack, finding it, and clipping it to her belt, slipping the knife in. It had probably saved her life, and she wasn't going to let it rust away in a cave.

_There's probably something I could use here, _she reflected, surveying the pile of old junk. She silently rooted through it, finding nothing of importance, then turning to the backpack. She gathered the things up and returned them to the bag, slinging it over the back. She tiptoed toward the cave mouth, where two burly fishmen stood guard. With a deft movement she hit a pressure point on one's neck; he collapsed, unconsious. The other let out a strangled, wheezing sound – annoyance? – and swung a crude club at her head.

Akasha parried the blow easily and caught the weapon, twisting it from his grasp. She banged him smartly over the head, just enough to render him unconcious. The fishman fell heavily to the cave floor. Akasha dusted off her hands, letting the club fall to the ground. Then she turned right, hurrying down the passage. She needed to find he turtles!

For some minutes she followed the tunnel, choosing random ones where there was more than one. Finally she sat down with her back to the wall, panting.

_I'm lost, _she told herself. _Stupid caves. Now what am I going to do?_

* * *

_We are gaining nothing from this, _Prikë announced mentally about half an hour later. _Your friend is either already dead, or is being held somewhere. We must make a break for it and get out._

"What about Akasha?" Leonardo asked in indignation – a little too much for Raphael's liking. "She isn't dead! How could you say that?"

_I am not accustomed to being sympathetic. My goal is get my companions and I to safety. Kleye pursuaded me to help you too. It was no choice of mine, _Prikë's voice was haughty. _I am breaking us out. If you wish to see daylight again you will help._

"Akasha's more than capable of looking after herself," Mikey pointed out fairly. "She's most likely already free and coming back here!"

"Yeah, let's get the shell outta here," Raph agreed. "She's fine." He jerked his chin at Leo, daring him to challenge the idea. No challenge came.

"You," Yola ordered suddenly. "Raphael. Pretend to be sick. On the floor, now! We will call in the guards, then knock them out."

"Isn't that a bit too obvious?" asked Raph.

"Shrak is not knows for choosing intelligent guards. He goes for the large, frightening-looking ones." Yola pointed at the floor. "You. Sick. Now."

"Don't ask or anything," Raph snarled, but obeyed.

"Guard! Guard!" Yola called, pretending to be agitated. "Guard! My friend is sick! Really sick! You must help!"

To Raph's surprise the stone door slid open. He immediantly fell to the ground, pretending to moan.

A few muffled thumps were heard and then all was quiet. Raph threw a glance over his shoulder to see everyone – Mikey, Leo, Kleye, Yola, Guppy, Prikë, Naomi – staring at him. The two fishmen were unconcious on the floor.

"You can get up now, bro," Mikey told his brother with a snigger. Realizing his prone position on the floor, Raph scrambled to his feet, flushing.

"We goin' then?" he demanded. Yola wordlessly handed him his sai's which she had recovered from the guard, turned and padded off down the tunnel. The others followed, Raph lagging at a trot.

"Why can't we just go up through the Viewing Pod's exit shaft?" Mikey inquired of Prikë.

_You wanted to save your friend, didn't you? _The merman snapped gruffly. _We're saving her. _

Raph suppressed a grin.

_And it's not just that, _Prikë informed the red-banded turtle as if he had seen. _Shrak has locked the shaft. Only he knows the password to reopen it. _

They trudged along, meeting no one. Raph was beginning to wonder if they would ever get above ground again when, as they rounded a corner, Prikë doubled over, gasping. Akasha had sprung on top of his back, hand groping for a pressure point in his neck.

"Whoa!" Mikey cried. "Ash! It's us!"

"Guys?" Akasha slid off Prikë. Then she spotted Raph. With immense speed she propelled herself forward, hugging him fiercely round the neck. Raph sagged forward, gasping for air.

"Gotta… breath…" he wheezed. Akasha drew back a little.

"Raph! God, you coulda come a little faster!" But he saw in her eyes she wasn't mad. She hugged him again, this time he returned the gesture. He spied Leo's furious face over Akasha's shoulder and grinned into her sweatshirt.

_It you are quite done, _Prikë interjected stonily, trying to regain some of his composier. _Time is of the essence. We must go. Follow me. _He turned and led the way speedily down the passage. Akasha smiled at Raph and gripped his hand as the trotted after the fishman. Raph felt a happy, swelling sensation below his plastron, and had to fight very hard not to grin goofily at her.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I know. "She didn't do a cliffie! Is the Apocalypse near!" CPQ pursuaded me you guys deserved a nice, long, fluffy, none-cliffie-ish chappie for a change. I guess she's right. But don't worry - things are only gonna get worse from now on! Buahahahahaha!

Oh, and please review... ;-)


	8. Deadweight

A/N: OMG, I've really left it ages this time haven't I? Bad authoress, bad authoress! But not to worry! This is the last chapter, other than the epilogue, which is in the works! And it's long! The chapter title makes sense at the end. Again, a warning; minor swearing is used in this chapter. No offense, just to give you the heads up in case. It _is_ rated 'T'.

PLOTHOLE: Me and CPQ realized that this story has a plothole! (gasps) Not a colossal one, but it's annoying. Akasha had her bathing suit on when she went in the lake after Naomi, and then, at the end of the last chapter when Raph hugs her, she miraculously has a sweatshirt on, and in areas of the last few chapters,implied full clothing. I do intend to go back and fix that, but I thought I would just point that out and post the next chapter ASAP. In this chapter Akasha is wearing her bathing suit.

**Hidden Truth**

_Chapter 8_

_Deadweight_

* * *

They continued down the tunnel. Raph noticed Akasha was wearing a backpack she had not had before. He tapped her shoulder. 

"Where'd ya get the backpack?" he asked.

"Oh… There was a bunch of stuff in the cave I was held prisoner in. I think it belonged to my relatives that got… ya know…" she gritted her teeth. Raph put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned gratefully against him.

"It… I don't know. 'It called to me' would sound stupid…" she laughed despite her watering eyes. "I just kinda… felt like it was important. I dunno."

"Nothing stupid about that," Raph said softly.

Suddenly the tunnel widened out into a large cavern. The tunnel continued at the other end of the cave.

"I don't like this," Leo murmured, unsheathing his katanas. "It's too quiet."

"Naw, ya don't say?" Raph returned sarcastically. Leo's authoritive figure was getting on his nerves. Akasha squeezed his hand. He felt the anger simmer down a little at her touch.

The group skirted around the edges of the cave, eyes peeled for the slightest sign of movement. Nothing happened. They reached the tunnel entrance.

"Let's go!" Raph hissed. "Before Shrak gets back!" He stepped toward the tunnel, but Yola held him back.

"Wait," she murmured. "Something is not right…"

Suddenly Guppy, unable to stand the tension, bolted forward. The moment he reached the tunnel entrance he froze. A bluish wall of light appeared covering the way. Guppy's head made it through, but the rest of him was stuck. He wriggled and twisted but could not get free.

"It's a trap!" Yola walked forward, examining the struggling Guppy. "A crystal-powered force-field if you will." She pointed to a small crystal embedded in the top of the tunnel, directly above the light-wall. "I'll need time to disable it."

"Guys, I don't think we have any time," Leo said, whipping his twin katana swords from their sheaths in one fluid movement. He was facing the cave, his shell to the squirming Guppy. Slowly, Akasha turned around; the bottom dropped out of her stomach.

At least fifty fishmen, armed with clubs and crude spears, were silently filtering into the cavern. They were huge and well muscled, with more brawn than brains, she supposed. Shrak stood calmly behind his small army, his crystal-capped staff raised. The clamshells that adorned his headdress clinked as he assumed a fighting stance.

_Guards! _He screeched mentally. The force of the cry sent Akasha reeling. Naomi was also clutching her head. The turtles seemed indifferent, but Prikë, Yola, Kleye and Guppy could hear it too. _Attack! No survivors! Kill the traitors and their filthy friends! _

The fishmen began to advance, weapons raised.

"We're not losing again! Either we get out of here, or we go down fighting!" Leonardo cried. He slashed at an oncoming fishman, knocking him unconcious with the handle of his katana. He whirled on one foot and lashed out at another foe, knee catching him in the gut. The guard went down, clutching at his lower belly.

Akasha did not need to be told twice. She reached down and scooped up a falled spear, preparing to charge. But a firm green hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"No," Raphael stated. "I'm not losing you again. You stay put."

"Forget it! I can fight!" Akasha glared at the turtle, eyes on fire. The red-banded ninja sighed.

"Look…" he began, but Akasha cut him off.

"I want to get out of here, okay? I'm not getting caught _again_." She grinned. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I want to kick Shrak's scaly ass outta here just as much as you!"

Raph smiled, but the expression never fully registered. A war hammer, crudely built but quite heavy, came crashing down, aiming for the turtle's head. Raph's ninja instincts alerted him, and he dove to the left, but the blow caught him on the knee. With a howl the red-banded terrapin fell down.

"Raph!" Akasha placed a roundhouse kick at his assailant's – a giant fishman – midsection. The brute fell down, unconsious. Akasha crouched down by Raphael, who was panting in obvious pain.

"Damn! Oh, hell! This hurts… I can't fight now!" Raph panicked. "God! What am I gonna do now?"

"You stay put," Akasha instructed. "I've gotta splint it." The girl whirled around briskly snatching a poorly made staff from a nearby bear-creature. She broke the staff over her knee, 'accidentally' whacking the creature with one end of it. The creature fell down. Akasha knelt once more by Raph and placed her hands on his leg, which was bent at an odd angle.

"This is gonna hurt," she warned. Raph gritted his teeth. She turned his leg to the right position, hissing as if she felt the pain herself. She then tore one of the backpack's straps off. It came away easily, the rotten fabric not putting up a fight. She laid the half of the staff by Raph's leg and tied it in place with the strap.

Suddenly a fishman with wiry muscles brought a spear down aimed for her collarbone. She whirled, deflecting the blow with her forearm, driving her other fist at his diaphragm. He tumbled limply to the floor.

"We need to get our backs to a wall!" she cried above the clash of weapons, calmly ignoring the unconsious fishman at her feet. "C'mon!" She heaved Raph toward one of the walls of the cave. He gave a cry of warning, but before Akasha could turn to defend herself from an oncoming bear-creature, Leonardo kicked it away. He turned to Akasha, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Did you get hurt?" his gaze fell on Raph, and a look of pure shock crossed his face. "Raph! Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Raph demanded. "This damn hurts, Leo!"

Leonardo gritted his teeth, but did not reply. He turned and began attacking nearby enemies, driving them back.

"Yola is working on the crystal!" he called over his shoulder to Akasha. "Get Raph up and ready to run! Mikey and I will hold them off!"

Akasha nodded briskly, and heaved Raph up. Finally the terrapin was upright, if a little wobbly. Akasha grabbed his arm and helped him painfully forward, to where Yola was struggling to free Guppy.

"Okay, the forcefield will reset about ten seconds after I hit this," Yola told Akasha, flippered finger hovering over a stone tablet on the wall nearby. "Get your friends ready to go."

"LEO!" Akasha yelled. "Get over here! Mikey! You too! Naomi, c'mere!" Leo immediantly abandonned his fight and raced over to her. Mikey followed soon after, Naomi right behind. Prikë and Kleye were already nearby, and the group crowded around Yola, Leo and Mikey fighting off the surrounding enemies.

Yola hit the stone tablet.

The forcefield dropped, letting Guppy fall with a yelp to the floor. He scrambled up and loped haphazardly a little way off. The rest of the group – Yola, Prikë, Akasha, Raph, Naomi, Kleye, Leo and Mikey – tumbled through the tunnel entrance, eager to put some distance between them and the furious mob of fishmen and bear creatures.

"We have to stop them from getting through!" Akasha called. "The forcefield will restart in ten!"

Leo launched himself forward, engaging a bear creature. He easily flipped the beast toward his oncoming companions, bringing down the front row. Shrak was mentally shrieking orders, directing the army to prevent the forcefield from reactivating.

"Agh! Make it stop!" moaned Naomi, clutching her head. Shrak's cries echoed inside her head, making it throb. Mikey dropped down beside her one one knee, looking concerned.

"Nami? You okay, babe?"

Akasha gritted her teeth; she heard it too, but shoved it away, concentrating on keeping the fishman from her mind. She knelt next to her cousin.

"He's in my head! Ah, make the yelling stop…" Naomi whined, tears coursing down her cheeks. Mikey was looking highly concerned now.

"He's in your head? Who?"

"Shrak!" Akasha answered for Naomi. "We can hear his voice! Maybe we can pick it up because of our Y'Lyntian blood…" she was cut off as Leo fell with a cry, victim to a brutal slash to the midsection by a fishman. Akasha stumbled to her feet and shoved Leo out of the way as the fishman brought the butt of a spear down where his head had been. Mikey had followed her, and knocked the foe unconcious.

A crackling sound was heard. A beam of blue light split the air, hitting the ground in the center of the tunnel entrance. The light beam thinned, spreading to cover the entrance once more. The Y'Lyntian servent's hesitated, unwilling to try to cross. Shrak's voice screeched,

_You fools! Shut off the forcefield! Do not let them escape!_

Akasha winced, and Naomi shrank against the cave wall.

_We must go. _Kleye's soft voice cut through the incoherent cries of Shrak. _Shrak's brutes are unintelligent, but he is not. He will eventually fix the crystal himself. We must get a headstart._

The group began to hurry along the passage, Shrak's screams dying down at last. Naomi plodded along, head down, making no move to prevent the steady flow of tears that was cutting tracks through the grime on her face. For the first time Akasha realized how her feet ached, how she felt every single piece of gravel and every crack in the stone. She bit her tongue to stop herself complaining.

Suddenly the group halted; they had reached another door like the one leading to the Viewing Pod. Kleye cocked her head.

_I am not familiar with this chamber, _she said. Before she could say anything more, however, the doors opened silently. Inside was too dark to see, but it appeared to be another tunnel.

"Let's go," Mikey said. "That Shrak dude might be behind us!" This statement seemed to spur some life into his companians, and they immediantly hurried into the room.

The doors slid shut, cutting off the light. Utter blackness shrouded the group. Mikey screamed.

"It's a trap! It's a trap! Mayday, mayday!" he squealed, running into a wall. He lurched backward, clutching his head. "Ow…"

"Stay still," Yola ordered calmly. "It will do no good killing each other by accident. I have a light, let me activate it." A moment passed, then light flared unexpectedly. Yola held a blue crystal in her hands that shone with a steady, clear light that filled the cavern. Mikey stopped whimpering.

"Where are we?" Leo asked, looking about warily. They were in a room much like the Viewing Pod, except there was no table or screen, but the walls were the same: all smooth and seamless, with no entry to speak of.

"I don't know," Yola admitted. A blush crept along her cheekbones. "Kleye? Do you know?"

_I cannot say that I do, _Kleye replied solemnly. _But as rebels, we were most likely kept in the dark about a lot of things here. I am not all that surprised, truth to be told._

_I know not of it either, _Prikë confided. _But there must be a way out. _The fishman ran his hands along the walls, feeling for a button or device of some kind to reopen the door. There was none.

"Hey guys!" Mikey called from the other side of the chamber. He was hunched over something on the ground. As the group gathered around him, they noted that there was a brick sticking out of the wall just a fraction. Mikey braced his hand against it and pushed it back in place.

A stone panel just at eye level above them flipped over. On it was two hexagonal stone tablets: one red, large with Y'Lyntian script scrawled across it. The other was a small, insignificant dark purple one that was entirely blank.

"Um, should we press one of 'em?" Mikey asked hesitantly. Prikë frowned.

_The red one says 'Do Not Press' in Y'Lyntian, _explained the fishman. _That's all it tells you._

"Who votes for Button Number 2?" Mikey asked, his finger hovering over the purple tablet.

"Wait a minute," Leo instructed. "Maybe the red one is fake, and the purple one is dangerous. If we press the red one, I'll bet it'll open the door."

"Makes sense," Mikey nodded. Before anyone could say a word, his finger shifted the quarter of an inch needed and applied pressure to the red button.

Nothing happened for a moment; then there was a soft whistling sound and a pondweed smell enveloped the group.

"Ugh, who was that?" Mikey demanded, wrinkling his nose.

"Not us, doofus!" Raph snarled, leaning heavily against the wall to avoid standing on his bad leg. "Look!" The red-banded ninja pointed at the floor; minute cracks along the bottom of the wall had appeared, and in flowed water; it seeped in until they were standing in an inch of the stuff, then two inches, as the water began creeping up to their ankles.

"Ah! It's a trap!" Mikey squealed. Seized by a fit of panic, he whacked the red button with his balled fist.

An ominous rumbling could be heard from the caves surrounding them. An explosion sounded farther away, and the room rocked.

_Oh no, _Kleye whispered. _I believe you have set off the self-destruct mechanism, Michelangelo._

"Nice going, moron!" Raph whacked Mikey over the head. "Now we _really _gotta get outta here!"

Guppy whined and clawed at the walls, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Suddenly an even bigger explosion ripped through the wall opposite them. Rock and debris crashed down around them, and Naomi screamed. The now calf-deep water slowly dispersed, spreading into the corridor beyond. As the dust cleared, growls of distant bear-creatures could be heard, and more crashes of broken stone and earth.

_We must leave. _Prikë was looking highly disconcerted now. _The confusion triggered by the self-destruct may be the destracion we need to escape, but we must move quickly. Is everyone accounted for?_

"Yes, Prikë," Yola stated softly from behind Leo. Her large eyes mirrored the heaps of rubble around them. A hint of fear lurked in her face, but it disappeared once she turned away.

"Let's go," Leo ordered. "It'll be quicker if one of us carries Naomi, no offense, you're not the fastest runner." He gave the girl an apologetic glance.

"Fine fine," Naomi muttered. Mikey grinned and scooped her up, ignoring her squeal.

"What about Raph?" Mikey asked from over Naomi's head. "He doesn't look like he's in good shape."

"I'll manage," growled Raph grimly.

"C'mon then." Leo turned and disappeared through the newly blown open exit of the room. The _splish splish _of his bare feet in the puddles was the only noise he made.

The others hurried after him. Naomi clung to Mikey's neck as the group made its way a quietly as possible back the way they had come, the sound of panicked fish- and bear- creatures growing louder ahead.

A sudden explosion nearby rocked the tunnel, causing Mikey to half-trip, catching himself at the last moment. Naomi gasped as she swung dangerously close to the ground.

_We must hurry! _Kleye barked mentally. _Shrak holds a grudge. This self-destruct mechanism will not stop him from trying to kill us all! _

These words seemed to jolt the group into reality. Prikë paused for a moment, then turned to Leo.

_I know where the nearest exit is. Can you scout ahead and see if there are any of Shrak's warriors near? We can't afford for them to know where we are._

Leonardo seemed ready to object, but he glanced at Akasha, and then nodded in agreement. He turned and disappeared along the tunnel ahead of them. Akasha sighed in relief at his lack of retaliation. The really did _not_ need to be fighting amongst themselves now.

Naomi was silent in Mikey's arms, now. She bit her lip to keep from making a noise, seemingly not wanting to be in the way. She shrank against Mikey's plastron as another explosion rocked the caverns around them.

A chunk of rock fell in front of them; Prikë, who had been at the front of the group, stumbled backward into Yola. Yola gave a cry as Prikë fell down, his leg hidden under the mass of rubble. His face twisted in unimaginable pain and his mental voice screamed. When the cry subsided, his voice was weak.

_Yola! Get the others out! You must hurry!_

"No, Prikë! No!" Yola fell to her knees beside her fallen comrade, tears streaming down her scaly cheeks. "You can get up!"

_No, my leg is in too far. _

"I can get rid of that!" Naomi twisted in Mikey's grip, and he set her on her feet. She walked over to Prikë. "This is gonna hurt a bit." Naomi's face scrunched in consentration as she hefted one hand, palm out, to the rock wall in their path. Slowly it began to crumble away into dust. As the dust cleared, they could see Leo standing there; he had obviously heard the cave-in and returned to find his friends gone.

Prikë's mental gasp of pain jolted Akasha back to Earth. Quickly she knelt before the injured fishman. His right leg was bloody and mangled, and she felt her stomach roll over unpleasantly. Shaking her head to rid herself of the nausea, she tore the flap off the rotting backpack she wore and used it to mop up some of the blood. Naomi tore off her T-shirt and handed it to Akasha, teeth chattering as the freezing cave air chilled her. She stood shivering in her sports bra as her cousin applied pressure to Prikë's injured leg in a futile effort to stem to blood.

_We must get him above ground. _Kleye's musical voice shook as she bent down and helped Akasha tie the T-shirt to Prikë's mangled limb. _Leonardo, can you carry him?_

"Yes of course," Leo replied. He waited for Kleye and Akasha to finish their job before he stooped and picked up Prikë. The group started off again.

With Prikë's help, they managed to navigate their way through the catacombing tunnels, evading the groups of panicked guards. Finally they came to another chamber much like the Viewing Pod.

_This is another exit pod, _Prikë explained, his mental voice sounding rather winded. _Push that button and the doors will open to another exit shaft._

Akasha pressed the required button and sure enough the doors to another shaft slid seamlessly open nearby.

Under Prikë's instruction they piled inside. But it was too small.

"One of us will need to stay behind." Leo pointed out grimly.

"I'll stay," Akasha decided briskly. "None of you can, you're busy with Naomi and Prikë, and Raph's hurt. And I can fight. Go." Before Raph could argue, as she knew he would, Akasha pressed the 'up' button. Raph's shocked and concerned face vanished as the shaft's elevator began to rise.

Without the others the pod was eerily quiet. The distant thunder of feet and massive explosions seemed very far away, and Akasha felt her skin crawl at the unrealness of it all. She shivered, hugging the old backpack to her chest and patting the knife still belted to her waist. It felt reassuring to have its solid presence near.

Suddenly there was a flurry of movement at the pod's entrance. The doors opened and in raced Shrak, followed by two of his warriors. Akasha whipped out her knife instinctively, keeping the blade between her and the burly fishman.

_Oh, it's a human. _Shrak's mental voice hissed. Akasha noted with satisfaction that a shallow cut had been scored along his bicep, and his headdress was askew and missing more than a few of its decorative shells. She did not reply.

_Where are your little traitor friends? _Shrak demanded, advancing. His guards followed a little forlornly behind him, their eyes wide and swivelling from side to side.

"Long gone," Akasha lied, circling the table to keep it in between her and the livid fishman. Shrak threw back his head, his chest heaving with silent laughter.

_You fool! I know your kinds' sentimental tendancies! They would not leave you alone, that much I am certain! They are hiding._

"No!" Akasha felt the back of her throat constrict painfully, and swallowed. "No, they're gone! They abandonned me." She experimentally feigned looking down, keeping her eyes trained on him from beneath her lowered lashes. She let her bottom lip quiver.

To her surprise this seemed to win the fishman over. He smiled cruelly.

_You see? Your friends are traitors. That they would leave you here, where you would certainly meet your doom… _Shrak's voice was low and seductive now, trying to entice her into turning against her friends. Akasha was not fooled. She played the part easily.

"Yes!" She nodded eagerly. "They thought I was a deadweight, and left me here! I was forced to stay behind!"

Shrak was now convinced that she was on his side. He sidled over to her, but his bulk was not easy to manoeuvre subtly. Akasha pretended not to notice, and smiled benignly at the approaching fishman.

As he lept toward her, Akasha feinted left, lunged right; drove her knee into his gut. His fishlike appearance did not change his reaction; he dropped like a stone, gasping for breath. As she whirled, knife in her fist, the other fishmen were already running to safety. Akasha grinned.

"Akasha!" The elevator had finally arrived. Raphael limped as fast as he could over to her, looking horrified at the prone merman on the floor. "Did he hurt ya? Are ya o'kay?"

"Yeah." Akasha glanced at Shrak with contempt. Raph suddenly leant over and hugged her fiercely.

"You're not a deadweight." He whispered; he had heard. Akasha felt tears stinging her eyes at the sincere declaration. She buried her face in Raph's neck, blotting out the cave, trying to forget about what was around her.

Raph pulled back.

"We gotta go. Now."

With a brusque nod, Akasha followed him swiftly to the elevator. The got inside, Raph hit the button. They began to ascend speedily, the carriage making no noise. When it slid smoothly to a halt, the doors opened, and they were standing ankle-deep in the lake. A few meters away on shore, Mikey, Naomi, Kleye, Yola and Guppy were crowded around the wounded Prikë. The fishman was gasping for breath. Leo stood a little was away from them, eyes on Akasha and Raph. They stepped out of the elevator – Akasha helping to support Raph, for his leg was beginning to give him trouble – and its doors closed seamlessly, before it sank with a noise reminiscent to a toilet plunger back into the lakebed.

As Akasha and Raph approached Leo, Raph casually put his arm around Akasha's midriff. She gave him a distracted smile and nodded to Leo before hurrying to see Prikë. The blue-banded warrior's eyes hardened at his brother's strategically placed limb, and his hands balled unintentionally into fists.

"How are you feeling?" Akasha asked Prikë gently, kneeling beside him. The fishman turned his head toward her, his myopic gaze travelling from her to Raph.

_I am well enough. _He coughed drily to one side. Guppy whined in agitation. _You must go now. No doubt your friends will be looking for you._

"What about you?" Naomi spoke up worriedly. She was crouched with Guppy beside the ailing merman, her eyes overbright with unshed tears.

_I shall be fine. I believe Kleye knows of a secluded stream not far from here we can rest in. After that… we shall see._

The faraway explosions from Shrak's hideout made the ground beneath their feet shake as the tremors hit. Akasha became aware of just how cold she was, and shivered. Naomi was hunched in her sports bra, shaking like a leaf in the wind, but unwilling to leave Prikë. Guppy rubbed his head against her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

_Go, _Prikë told them. _There isn't a moment to lose. It may be unwise to stay so close to Shrak's base if it is exploding. I'm not altogether sure if it may break the surface._

Naomi sniffled and hugged the merman, gave Kleye and Yola a watery smile, ruffled Guppy's head, then drew back, and followed Mikey into the trees. Kleye and Yola grasped Prikë's arms and helped him to a wobbly stand, Guppy bracing the merman's legs. Akasha faltered; she felt drawn to Yola in an inexplicable way, but time was against them. She nodded to the trio of fishpeople and the lone bear creature. She hoped they would make it to safety.

"Good luck," she whispered. Yola raised her head and met her eyes; for a moment, Akasha could see her reflected in the large liquid orbs, felt her breath hitch. Something was different about Yola, and she wanted to know what. She seemed… familiar.

Then the contact was broken, severed cleanly as the fishwoman dipped her head to support Prikë more effectively. Akasha shook her head to clear it and turned to Kleye.

"Thank you for looking after my cousin," she murmured. Kleye nodded briefly. With strength born of the need to move swiftly, Kleye and Yola half helped, half carried their injured friend into the trees. Guppy gave a sort of purring, rumbling sound, which Akasha guessed meant goodbye. The he too turned and loped into the forest. Akasha was left standing forlornly next to Raph, feeling a weight in her chest at the sight of her disappearing friends. Raph hugged her with one arm draped over her shoulders. It was all he could manage because of his leg. Akasha helped him as they turned to follow Mikey and Naomi. Leo stood a little way off, gazing with more than a little jealousy at the pair as they approached.

"Prikë was right," he said gruffly. "We should go. And Akasha and Naomi's family is probably worried sick. Come on."

Raphael bit back a retort at Leo's Leader role, and glared after the retreating shell of his brother.

Akasha was impassive at this exchange. She was staring at the sky, at the clouds scuttling across it like wary beetles. It was getting dark again. Suddenly feeling very tired, she put down her head and plodded as fast as Raph's injury allowed back toward the cottage.

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A/N: What's there to say?The Epilogue is on the way, don't worry! Please review! (Or PM, if that is your preference, I don't really care, I just want input.) 


	9. Epilogue

A/N: Okay, I took longer than I thought, but here's the epilogue! A warning: Lots of mush, and it goes a bit farther than before, so if you get easily squeamish (like me)watch out! It was hell to write, though, and CPQ had to do most of it, (thankies chica!) so I hope y'all like it! Reviews are, as always, muchly appreciated.

To Reijiro: Just so you know I didn't ignore your review, most of the things you mentioned will be cleared up in a later Secrets fic. They won't be left forgotten in a corner collecting virtual dust - they'll just take a while to have a satisfactory outcome. This epilogue focuses more on Raph and Akasha, but it does tell ya what happened after they escaped the fishpeople.

Ugh, I'm rambling... on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninja Turtles.

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**Hidden Truth**

_Epilogue_

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The radio buzzed merrily as the announcer stated the upcoming weather: sunshine and lots of it!

"Yes, Dan, we can expect a lot of beach weather for the week!" the overly cheerful announcer chimed in after the ads were over. "Lots of folks hitting the road for holidays, so be sure to check our traffic report at our website, it's updated every two hours! I'm Bob Guire, and now you're up to date!"

Akasha sighed and plonked her finger on the 'off' button on her clock radio. Her suitcase, half unpacked, lay on her bed, various items of clothing that had almost made it to her chest of drawers strewn on the covers around it. She folded a pair of shorts and put them on the pile that lay beside her then reached for the pink bathing suit. She smiled crookedly at its cotton-candylike colour and smoothed her thumb along the seam, feeling the label crinckle. She stowed it in her drawer.

As she worked, she drifted back to their escape from Shrak's cave that had taken place only a few days ago. It seemed like years now.

They had hastened back to the cabin, to find Mark and Nicolas just returning from a desperate search of the lake and surrounding woodland. Mark hugged Naomi fiercely and ushered her inside before she 'caught her death of cold'. There they found Don and Sarah in conversation in the living room. None of the adults seemed the least perturbed by Leo, Raph and Mikey, but Jordan seemed a little wary, and stuck close to her father and her sister. Little Emily seemed quite fine with the terrapins, and Bailey paraded around the cottage, barking and wagging his tail.

Akasha dried herself off and got changed, and had a mug of tea pushed into her hands by Nicolas, who seemed eager to help in any way he could. The turtles were given fuzzy, mismatched blankets, for they were all shivering violently, though none of them would complain. Raph's leg was examined and resplinted. They had to recount the entire episode of their escape at least three times before they could have any peace. Naomi told of how she had been kept in a separate chamber four times, for Akasha and the turtles had not heard of that either.

The next day had been a hectic one. There was a frenzy of fevered packing and running all about the place in search of anything that could have been left behind. The entire family had decided it simply wasn't safe to stay there any longer, that year at least. They were taking everything with them – even the _Blue Heron _was recovered from the woods, pulled ashore and tied to the roof of Mark's van. They managed to fit almost everything into either the van or Sarah's Jeep, and what they could not manage were locked up in the outhouse or in the wood shed, where people wouldn't think to look.

At last they packed everyone into the remaining space in the vehicles and drove away. Mark, Naomi, Jordan, Akasha and the turtles just fit in the van, squeezed in between the pockmarked multi-coloured pool noodles, the paddles and the huge stack of assorted pots and crockery. Sarah, Nicolas and Emily fit nicely into the Jeep, and what little extra room there was was filled with random items, everything from a cupful of cutlery to Nicolas's fossil collection. Bailey, who had unfortunately been unable to fit in the van, lay panting on half the Jeep's back seat next to a box of packaged food, tongue lolling out in the June heat.

Lily had been called and had come to pick Akasha up, white-faced and panic-stricken. She wept the whole time she was there; Akasha's near-fatal encounter with the fishpeople had stirred up opressed memories of her husband's death.

Akasha finished stacking socks in her drawer and pushed it shut with her foot. She turned and was about to draw the lid of the suitcase closed when she felt a bulge in one of the pockets. Unzipping it she found the old rotting backpack. It had been shoved here without a second thought after the excitement of their return. Upon further inspection, she found to her dismay that most of its contents had been lost somewhere in the cave. She shook her head; she wasn't really surprised. The only thing that had survived their flight was the old battered tape recorder. She turned it over in her hands. The small triangular clear plastic window was scatched badly, but she could make out the shadow of a tape inside.

Under whimsical inclination, Akasha tried to pry the front of the tape recorder open with her fingernails, but it was stuck. With a half-hearted shrug she set it aside on her bedside table and folded the backpack up, sticking it under her bed. She let the flap on her suitcase fall shut and propped it against the wall, sat on her bed. She felt perhaps drained, certainly tired. She rubbed her temples.

_Tap tap._

Jerking her head up, Akasha relaxed with a wry smile.

"Come in, Raph."

With more difficulty and several more colourful oaths than usual, the red-clad ninja entered through the window, sporting a bandaged leg and crutches.

"How did you manage to get up here?" Akasha asked incredulously, eyeing his crutches. "You can use the door you know. My mom doesn't mind."

"Habit. Ninja's don't use the front door." Raph cursed as he almost tripped over his crutches. "I can't train for weeks! My sai's are getting rusty!" He sat dejectedly on the bed beside her.

"I'm sure you'll be back in the dojo soon," Akasha grinned. "Even ninjas need rest occasionally."

"Hmph." Raph toyed with his bandaged leg, face sullen and brooding. "I came here to get away from Leo," he confessed after a moment. "He's been on to me all the time, telling me to rest, not to move, to sit down and not do anythin'! He's been breathing down my neck since we got back from Canada."

"He can be extremely annoying when he wants to be," agreed Akasha. "I'm surprised he didn't follow you here!"

"He tried to," Raph said grimly. "I told him that if he did I'd stick my sai somewhere painful."

Akasha received a graphic mental image at this charming analogy, and snorted loudly into her hands. Raph broke down and chuckled with her.

"He was actually still going to come, but sensei told 'im ta lay off. I still can't believe he let me come."

Splinter had come back from the Battle Nexus the day after they had returned, and had listened with mild concern to their exciting tale. He had dished out extra chores for all his sons as punishment for disobeying his direct orders, and forbade them to leave the lair for two weeks on any errand other than a patrol. This was received with cries of dismay from Mikey, quiet acceptance from Leo and Don, and steamy defiance from Raph, who despite his bad leg had been determined to visit Akasha. He had planned to sneak out to see her, but to his astonishment, when Splinter had found out he had excused him for a while to go. Leonardo had been shocked of course, but had not attempted to follow him after that.

"What's this?" Raph had set his crutches on the bedspread and had picked up the tape recorder, examining it.

"Oh, it's from that old backpack I found," Akasha said, scratching her nose. "Everything else got lost along the way. I suppose we were too busy concentrating on getting out to notice."

"Huh." He set it on the table again. "So it belonged to one of your family that got taken by the fishpeople?" His eyes were soft as he glanced at her. It was a sore subject.

"I think so." Akasha eyed her lap, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "There's no proof, of course. There might have been something in the book – there was a journal in the bag. But it got lost…" she sighed and flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder. "Of all the things to not fall out! I bet it's broken, or scratched. I can't even get it open." She gestured to the tape recorder with a grumble.

Raph put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "Have you told your mom?"

"No, I don't want her to freak out, or go into another depression by bringing up old memories." Akasha sighed, leaned her head against his shoulder. After a moment Raph let out a sad sigh.

"You really scared me back there, y'know. When ya stayed behind in the pod."

"Oh, well, it had to be done –" she was cut off as Raph turned his head to the side and pressed his lips against hers.

"What was that for?" she asked, surprised by the sudden, open show of affection.

"It had to be done," he stated simply.

"Oh really?" she asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. Swiftly she kissed his mouth, wrapping both arms around his neck. Raph complied willingly, wrapping his other arm around her waist, moving his hand up and down her back. They pulled back for air before Akasha moved in to kiss him again.

Raph's Shell Cell suddenly began to ring, making them both jump and blush. Raph, embarrassed, picked it up hurriedly and hit the 'talk' button.

"Hello?"

"Raph?" Leo's voice asked. "Why aren't you home yet? It's been half an hour!"

Raph scowled. "Why do I hafta be home now? Las' time I checked ya weren't my babysitter, Leo!"

Leo gave an exasperated sigh. "Just be back soon, or I'm coming to find you." The line clicked dead. Raph ground his teeth and slammed the phone shut.

"What was that about?" Akasha asked, tucking her feet under herself on the bed. Raph rolled his eyes and turned to her.

"Nothing important."

Akasha kissed him again, a peculiar melting sensation filling her stomach. Raph returned the gesture with a little more gusto than before and when the pulled back for air he had her pinned on the bed. When they finally came back to earth, it took a minute for them to fully assess the situation before flushing simultaneously at their inopportune position. However Raph did not draw back. He panted for breath, face still inches from Akasha's. He blinked then slowly sat back, wincing as his bad leg throbbed.

Akasha stayed still in her position, still half-beneath him.

"I, uh, I guess I'd better… um… go then," Raph mumbled, his cheeks flushing a darker shade of red. Akasha only nodded dumbly in response. Raph slowly stood up, leaving Akasha in her prone position on the bed. They stayed in their respective postures for a few moments, not really knowing what to say. Finally Akasha broke the silence by hesitently sitting up.

"It's a good thing we're not in the lair," she said, a small smile tugging on the corners of her mouth.

"Huh?" Raph looked utterly confused.

"Well, if we were in your room, someone could burst in at any moment, and I doubt we'd hear the end of it from whoever walked in."

Raph stared at her in disbelief before a smile spread across his beak. Eventually he started to chuckle, which turned into full-out laughter.

"Can ya imagine th' look on their faces if they caught us?" he managed as he cracked up. Akasha joined him, thankful that all awkwardness was gone.

After a few moments the laughter subsided, and Raph sighed heavily.

"I guess I'd better go before 'Fearless shows up."

"Yeah I guess," Akasha responded, disappointed he had to leave so soon.

"I'll try an' stop by again sometime," he said as he moved toward the window, "If Leo lets me outta his sight." Akasha smiled gravely and got up, walking over to him.

"Don't let him bother you too much," she advised. "He's only looking out for you." Raph nodded absently.

"I'll see ya 'round, Ash," he said as he made his way painfully out the window, crutches under one arm. On impulse Akasha ran over to it and poked her head out of the open window.

"Raph?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"If you need me for anything, just call."

There wasn't an answer, but she was sure he had heard.

The End

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A/N: Okay. There you have it. Enough mush? Not enough? Too much? Lemme know! Oh, and just so you know, the entire fic revolves around Akasha finding the tape recorder. (ducks flying projectiles) I know, I know! Lame! I made a fic out of what could have been done in a footnote! But oh well... heheh... (shifty eyes)

And a colossol thankyou to all who reviewed:

**Aaron Smiley, Reijiro, BubblyShell22, Liz-Sakura, **and**virtual wenrog**! You guys arethe best!And thanks to anyone who read, although reviews are good too:-D

Well that's it from me.You'll have to wait for anotherfic!'Cause I know you're all just _dying _for a sequel! ;-p

Till then, then,

D'fly Rider


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